STEPHEN  Bo  WEEKS 

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MEMOIR 


OF 


HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE, 

JUDGE  OF  THE  SUPREME  COURT  OP  TENNESSEE,  MEMBER  OP  THE 
SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  ETC.,  ETC. 


WITH   SELECTIONS   FKOM  HIS 

SPEECHES  AND   COREESPONDEI^CE. 

EDITED  BY 

NANCY    N.    SCOTT, 

ONE    OF   HIS   DESCENDANTS. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
J.   B.    LIPPINCOTT,    &   Co. 

1856. 


Enteeed  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1856,  If 

J.    B.    LIPPINCOTT    &    Co., 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  for  the  Eastern  District 

of  Pennsylvania. 


W.  H.  TiNSOs,  Stereottpeb. 
i4  Beekmau  St.,  New  York. 


TO 

MKS.   MARY  M.   0\EET0:N", 

THE    ONLY    SURYIVING   SISTER    OP    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE  "  THE    JUST," 


■^Ijis  ®mnriiil 


OF  mS  PURE   LIFE   AND   WOETHT   DEEDS, 

THE  IRREPRESSIBLE   OUTPOURING   OF  A  YEARNING  SPIRIT,   -WRITTEN 

WITH   A  HOPE   THAT  IT   MAY   CONTRIBUTE  TO 

A  RIGHT  IISTIMATE  OF  THE  MAN, 

BUT  WITH  THE   CONVICTION   THAT  A  MUCH   MORE   PERFECT   AND  LOFTY 
TRIBUTE   IS  JUSTLY   HIS   DUE, 

IS  RESPECTFULLY  AND  LOVINGLY  DEDICATED  BY 

THE  WRITER. 


PEEFACE 


This  book  lias  many  imperfections.  It  is  not  compiled  by 
an  experienced  writer,  nor  has  it  been  prepared  witb  the 
advantages  of  position  or  reputation.  It  is  simply  a  tribute 
to  the  memory  of  one  beloved  and  departed  ;  the  offering  of 
that  almost  idolatry  which  is  found  only  in  the  breasts  of 
those  few  who  by  nature  are  nearest  and  dearest  to  man. 
Only  the  merits  of  earnestness  and  devotion  can  therefore 
be  claimed  for  it. 

The  writer  has  endeavored  to  retire  from  view  ;  to  accom- 
plish the  present  purpose  in  the  most  unobtrusive  manner, 
by  a  narrative  brief  and  plain,  interspersed  with  such  letters, 
speeches,  and  other  documents,  as  may  best  illustrate  the 
relations  of  Judge  White  to  the  great  men  and  measures  of 
the  times,  and  the  high  and  honorable  position— honorable 
to  himself,  his  state,  and  his  country— which  he  held  in  the 
hearts  and  councils  of  his  countrymen. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

PAGE 

Ancestry — Gen.  James  "White — Mary  Lawson  his  Wife,     ....       1 

CHAPTER    II, 

Childhood — ^Youth — Studies — Expedition    against    the    Indians — Private 
Secretaryship,  8 

CHAPTER    III. 
Lawyer  and  Judge — Other  Public  Appointments,       .        ...        .        .16 

CHAPTER    IV. 
State  Legislator — Controversy  with  Mr.  Grundy — Duelling,       ,        ,        .19 

CHAPTER    V. 
Wilderness  Journey  to  Gen.  Jackson,         .......    24 

CHAPTER    VL 
A  Financier — ^Presidency  of  Bank  of  Tennessee,        .....    28 

CHAPTER    VIL 
Commissioner  under  Treaty  with  Spain — Second  Commissionership,  .        .     33 

CHAPTER    VIII. 
Senate — Panama  Mission — ^Federal  Judiciary  Apportionment,  .        ,36 

CHAPTER    IX. 
Senate — Internal  Improvements — United  States  Bank 70 

CHAPTER    X. 

Senate — Indian  Tribes— " Force  Bill" — Executive  Patronage — ^Expunging 
Resolutions,  ...  ,  153 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XL 

PAQC 

Senate — Abolition — Public  Land  Distribution — Sub-Treasury  Bill — Appear- 
ance— Business  habits — Surname, 197 

CHAPTER    XIL 

First  Political  Position — Subsequent  Change — Letter  from  Mr.  Polk — 
Public  Confidence  in  Judge  White — His  Singular  Position,    .        .        .  245 

CHAPTER    Xin. 

Relations  to  Messrs.  Grundy,  Polk,  Johnson^  and  Catron — Correspondence 
with  Polk  and  Johnson — Judge  White  and  the  Presidency,  .        .        .  253 

CHAPTER    XIV. 
His  relations  to  Gen.  Jackson,   .........  265 

CHAPTER    XV. 
Canvass  with  Mr.  Van  Buren — Letter  from  Mr.  Clay,        .        .        .  327 

CHAPTER    XVI. 

Retirement  from  Public  Life — Legislative  Instructions — Resignation  of 
Senatorship, 369 

CHAPTER    XVIL 

Dinner  at  Washington — Speeches  of  Messrs.  Preston,  White,  Corwin,  ■  *•  • 
Evans,  Habersham,  and  Biddle, 395 

CHAPTER   XVIIL 
Journey  Home — Flattering  Reception,      .        .        ,        .        .        .        .  409 

CHAPTER    XIX. 
His  Family — Afflictions — Letter  to  Dr.  Coffin, 413 

CHAPTER    XX. 
His  Death — Pubhc  Meetings — Proceedings  of  the  Bar  of  Tennessee,        .  240 

Conclusion, 437 

Appendix, 449 


MEMOIR 


OF 


HUGH   LA¥SON    ¥HITE 


-•*- 


CHAPTER    I. 


ANCESTRY. 


One  mile  above  Knoxville,  on  the  banks  of  the  Holston  Kiver. 
there  stood,  until  within  the  last  two  years,  a  house  worthy  of  remem- 
brance as  the  home  of  two  eminent  Tennesseans;  Hugh  Lawson 
White,  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  and  his  father,  General  James 
White.  The  daguerreotype  of  the  old  building  is  before  me.  All 
over  the  great  West  there  are  thousands  like  it — the  shelters,  palaces, 
and  castles  of  the  hardy  pioneer ;  his  first  forest  home,  the  scene  and 
centre  of  freedom,  energy,  courage,  privation,  truly  and  peculiarly 
American ;  the  altar  of  his  first  triumphs  over  the  subdued  wilder- 
ness ;  often  the  humble  birth-place  of  talent  and  genius,  and  of  ambi- 
tion high,  noble,  swift,  and  strong,  such  as  rarely  or  never  before 
sprung  into  existence. 

A  front  view  of  the  old  edifice  displays  two  square  sections,  "  pens," 
or  separate  apartments,  of  unequal  size,  each  a  story,  and-a-half  high, 
built  of  logs  coarsely  hewn,  the  interstices  of  which  are  stuffed  with 
clay,  and  with  an  outer  covering  of  boards.  Between  these  two 
rooms  stands  a  heavy  stone  chimney,  furnishing  a  fire-place  in  each. 
A  rude  piazza  extends  across  the  whole  front,  its  roof  some  distance 
below  the  eaves  of  the  house,  and  supported  by  six  slender  sawed 
posts.     The  whole  stands  upon  wooden  blocks  or  underpinning ;  one 

1  1 


2  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LA.WSON    WHITE. 

small  window  is  visible,  while  a  simple  step-ladder  in  one  corner  of 
the  piazza  is  the  stairway  to  the  half  story  above. 

In  this  house  lived  the  father  of  Hugh  Lawson  White,  and  here  he 
brought  up  his  family,  during  that  trpng  period  when  East  Tennessee 
■was  a  wilderness  of  wild  beasts  and  fiercer  savages.  General  James 
White  was,  in  many  respects,  a  remarkable  man.  He  was  of  Irish 
descent,  and  during  his  earlier  years  was  an  inhabitant  and  citizen  of 
North  Carolina,  where  he  married,  and  where  his  son  Hugh  was  born. 
He  served  his  country  faithfully  in  the  Revolutionary  war;  afterwards 
removed  with  his  family  to  Fort  Chiswell,  in  Virginia,  and,  finally,  in 
1781,  emigrated  to  Knox  county,  Tennessee,  where  he  erected  for 
hims^f  the  humble  home  just  described,  on  the  banks  of  the  beautiful 
Holston.  For  himself — but  also  for  a  home  and  resting-place  for 
every  weaiy  wanderer.  From  his  hospitable  door  none  were  ever 
sent  empty  away  ;  and  the  more  needy  the  applicant,  the  more  cer- 
tain was  he  of  enjoying  a  full  measure  of  hospitality. 

Here  his  characteristic  decision,  energy,  and  philanthropy  made 
him  a  leader  among  the  few  but  determined  spirits  with  whom  his  lot 
was  cast.  The  privations  and  dangers  to  which  all  new  settlers  are 
exposed,  seemed  only  to  nerve  him  to  greater  exertions.  The  wild 
and  boundless  forests,  their  inhabitants,  whether  savage  beasts  of 
prey,  or  yet  more  savage  red  men,  their  enmities,  their  snares,  their 
secret  and  open  attacks,  all  failed  to  intimidate  him.  With  his 
fellow-emigrants,  he  determined  that  the  fertile  valleys  and  rugged 
hills,  the  blue  mountains  and  sparkling  streams  of  East  Tennessee 
should  become  the  paradise  of  the  white  man.  < 

But  enlarged  and  comprehensive  as  were  his  views  and  -plans,  and 
brilliant  as  were  his  anticipations,  yet  when  in  1792,  he  founded  the 
good  town  of  Knoxville,  he  certainly  could  not  have  foreseen  that 
within  fifty  years  there  would  stand  in  the  place  of  the  gloomy  ***est,^ 
a  large  and  populous  city,  with  its  many  spires  pointing  to  heaven, 
much  less  the  triumphs  of  modern  science.  Little  did  he  dream  of  the 
gallant  steamers  that  were  to  plough  the  clear  blue  waters  where  then 
was  seen  only  the  Indian's  bark  canoe,  or  the  rude  raft  of  the  trader. 
Little  did  he  dream  of  the  iron  horse,  rushing  with  wind-like  speed 
along  his  fiery  way,  through  the  valleys  and  over  the  hills.  Nor 
could  he  even  anticipate  that  almost  within  the  half  century  there 
would  be  erected,  not  a  hundred  yards  from  the  site  of  his  own  hum- 
ble cabin,  a  manufactory  of  the  very  window-glass  which  he  considered 
Dot  only  a  useless  superfluity,  but  a  harmful  luxury. 


GEN.    JAME3    WniTE.  9 

-During  liis  forty  years'  residence  in  Tennessee,  Gen.  Wliite  occupied 
almost  every  post  of  distinction  in  the  gift  of  the  people.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  convention  chosen  in  1785,  for  ratifying  or  altering  the 
proi)osed  Constitution  of  the  State  of  Franklin;  and  preserved  the 
independence  and  integrity  of  his  character  through  the  stormy  scenes 
of  its  sessions.  He  was  elected  to  the  first  Territorial  Assembly  at 
Knoxville,  in  1794;  and,  while  serving  in  that  body,  introduced  a  bill 
creating  a  literary  institution;  which  measure  was  the  origin  of 
Greenville  College.  Statesmen,  judges,  lawyers,  clergymen,  men 
eminent  in  every  variety  of  public  station  in  Tennessee,  date  the 
beginning  of  their  career  in  learning  from  the  day  when,  often  as 
rude,  awkward,  penniless  boys,  they  first  turned  their  hesitating  steps 
toward  the  modest  tower  and  white  spire  of  that  institution,  which 
gleamed  so  long  with  the  light  of  science  and  religion  over  that  beau- 
tiful landscape.  Its  memory  now  alone  remains,  inseparably  blended, 
however,  with  that  of  the  good  men  who  gave  it  a  name  and  power  in 
the  land. 

General  "White  was  also  a  member  of  the  convention  which  framed 
the  Constitution  of  the  State  of  Tennessee — a  legislative  body  whose 
disinterestedness  is  without  parallel  in  our  national  history.  By  act 
of  Assembly,  each  member  was  entitled  to  two  dollars  and  a  half  per 
diem  for  services,  and  as  much  for  every  thirty  miles  of  travel  in  going 
and  coming.  The  convention  first  reduced  this  compensation  nearly 
fifty  2'>Gr  cent.,  and  then,  to  show  their  disregard  for  mere  pecuniary 
reward,  voted  unanimously  to  receive  nothing. 

He  was  also,  at  a  subsequent  period,  a  member  and  speaker  of  the 
State  Senate.  In  1812,  although  now  an  old  man,  he  again  profiered 
his  services  to  his  country,  in  order  to  maintain  the  independence 
which  in  his  youth  he  had  assisted  to  establish.  He  was  chosen 
Brigadier-General  by  the  militia  of  Tennessee,  and  distinguished  him- 
self in  the  Creek  War. 

General  White  was  admirably  fitted  by  physical  and  mental  con- 
stitution, for  the  times  and  circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed. 
Strong,  hardy  and  active  in  person,  intrepid,  cool  and  hopeful,  he 
was  ever  ready  to  encounter  any  hardship  or  to  brave  any  pei-il.  On 
the  2Gth  of  June,  1791,  Zeigler's  Station,  near  Bledsoe's  Lick,  the  rude 
defence  for  several  families,  was  attacked  by  a  large  party  of  Creek 
Indians  and  burnt.  Zeigler  himself,  who  was  intoxicated,  and  could 
not  make  his  escape,  was  consumed  in  the  flames;  his  three  little 
daughters,  together  with  Mrs.  Wilson,  General  White'?  half-sister,  were 


^  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

taken  prisoners,  and  were  afterwards  ransomed  by  him.  But  his 
niece,  Miss  Wilson,  only  nine,  years  old,  was  hurried  away  by  the 
savages,  although  twice  redeemed  from  them.  General  Wliite  deter- 
mined to  make  a  third  eftbrt  to  liberate  her;  and  accordingly  made 
the  long  journey  alone  on  horseback,  reached  the  Indian  encampment 
in  safety,  a  third  time  paid  ransom  for  his  niece,  and  feeling  assured 
that  all  was  now  satisfactorily  arranged,  set  out  on  his  return  home ; 
his  little  charge,  in  the  primitive  style  of  those  days,  seated  on  his 
horse  behind  him.  But  his  self-gratulation  was  short.  lie  was  soon 
overtaken  by  a  friendly  Indian,  who  told  him  that  the  treacherous 
Creeks,  already  repenting  their  bargain,  had  determined  to  way-lay 
and  kill  him  ;  and  oflered  to  guide  him  by  a  different  route  from  that 
first  contemf)lated.  General  White  gratefully  accepted  his  assistancei 
and  was  soon  beyond  the  reach  of  his  enemies ;  while  his  savage  ally 
returned  to  his  companions,  who,  still  in  ambush,  impatiently  awaited 
the  approach  of  their  victims.  When  assured  of  their  escape,  they 
gave  way  to  rage  and  disappointment ;  and  were  only  appeased  by 
the  adroitness  of  the  fellow,  who  told  them  that  the  General  was  a 
good  man,  and  therefore  the  Great  Spirit  had  caused  him  and  his 
horse  to  pass  invisible. 

At  another  time,  on  his  noble  grey,  rifle  in  hand,  he  leaped,  uncon- 
scious of  danger,  directly  over  an  Indian  who  was  concealed  behind  a 
fallen  tree  with  the  express  design  of  killing  him.  Apparently  it  was 
only  Providential  interposition  that  saved  him. 

General  White's  bravery  and  military  skill  were  fully  tested  during 
the  hostilities  of  1793,  with  the  Creek  and  Cherokee  Indians;  and 
particularly,  while  he  was  colonel  of  militia  in  the  "  Hamilton  Dis- 
trict," composed  of  Jefferson  and  Knox  counties,  by  the  coolness  and 
tact  displayed  in  the  arrangements  made  by  him  to  oppose  an  Indian 
invasion.  This  attack  was  contemplated  by  a  force  of  savages  nearly 
fifteen  hundred  in  number,  three-fourths  Creeks,  who  intended  to  invade 
the  settlements  on  the  Ilolston,  and  to  destroy  Knoxville.  The  excuse 
for  this  attack,  on  the  part  of  the  savages  was  the  cruelty  practised 
by  Major  Beard  on  Hanging  Maw,  a  Cherokee,  and  the  murder  of  his 
wife,  and  of  several  other  Cherokees.  In  the  absence  of  Gov.  Blount, 
Beard  had  been  despatched  by  Secretary  Smith,  with  fifty-six  men,  in 
pursuit  of  a  party  of  Indians  who  had  murdered  a  white  family  within 
sixteen  miles  of  Knoxville  ;  with  instructions  not  to  cross  the  Tennessee 
river,  nor  to  invade  the  Indian  settlements.  He,  however,  violated 
these  orders,  and  a  failure  by  a  court-martial  to  inflict  punishment  for 


GEN.    JAMES    WUITE.  O 

this  violation,  and  thereby  to  satisfy  the  revengeful  spirit  of  the  red 
men,  was  the  ostensible  reason  for  the  meditated  invasion.  The 
Spaniards  having  become  allies  of  the  hostile  Creeks  and  Cherokees, 
had  furnished  them  with  ammunition  for  the  occasion.  As  continual 
ravages  by  the  Indians  had  long  demanded  active  measures  for  the 
defence  of  the  frontier,  which  the  General  Government,  despite  many 
and  increasing  complaints,  neglected  to  take,  the  whites  now  at  last 
determined  to  defend  themselves  against  the  constant  inroads  of  the 
treacherous  foe.  The  dauntless  heroism  exhibited  subsequently,  as 
well  as  upon  the  particular  occasion  now  mentioned,  is  commemorated 
in  an  address  delivered  by  Rev.  Thos.  W.  Humes,  on  the  fiftieth  anni- 
versary of  the  settlement  of  Knoxville. 

"Their  entire  number,"  he  says,  speaking  of  the  Indian   forces, 
"  has  been  variously  estimated  from  nine  to  fifteen  hundred,  but  was 
most  probably  about  the  latter.     Knoxville,  the  object  of  plunder  and 
ruin  by  this  formidable  band,  and  which  the  news  of  its  coming  had 
reached,  could  at  that  time  muster  but  forty  fighting  men ;  but  these 
forty  were  no  cravens,  to  fly  at  the  approach  of  danger,  even  though 
it  presented  itself  in  the  terrible  shape  in  which  it  then  menaced  them. 
Here  were  their  homes,  their  families,  their  all ;  and  with  an  alacrity 
and  zeal  worthy  of  the  crisis,  they  prepared  to  defend  their  firesides. 
A  knowledge  of  Indian  cunning,  with  other  reasons,  induced  them  to 
conclude  that  the  approach  of  the  savages  to  the  town  would  not  be 
made  by  the  main  western  road,  but  in  a  more  northern  and  circuitous 
direction  ;  and  they  determined  to  meet  them  on  the  ridge,  over  which 
the  road  to  Clinton  now  passes,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  town, 
and  there,  by  a  skilful  arrangement  of  their  little  company,  attack  their 
line  of  march,  and,  if  possible,  alarm  and  intimidate  them.     Leaving 
the  two  oldest  of  their  number  to  mould  bullets  in  the  block-house, 
which  stood  on  the  spot  now  occupied  by  the  Mansion   House,  and 
which  contained  three  hundred  guns  belonging  to  the  United  States, 
the  other  thirty-eight  proceeded,  under  the  command  of  Col.  James 
White,  to  station  themselves  on  the  north  side  of  the  ridge  we  have 
mentioned,  with  an  interval  of  twentv  feet  between  each  man.     Orders 
were  given  to  reserve  their  fire  until  the  Indians  were  brought  within 
the  range  of  every  gun,  when  at  a  given  signal,  they  were  to  pour  in 
upon  them  a  well-directed  volley,  and,  before  the  savages  could  re- 
cover from  their  surprise,  secure  their  owr  retreat  to  the  block-house, 
and  there,  with  their  wives,  mothers,  and  children  around  them,  sell 
their  lives  at  a  fearful  price,  or  scatter  from  the  port-holes  a  shower 


6  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

of  leaden  hail  araono'  the  besieijers  that  would  drive  them  from  their 
banquet  of  blood."  Fortunately,  neither  of  these  contingencies 
awaited  them.  The  Indians  were  so  delayed  by  their  own  dissensions, 
that  they  were  unable  to  reach  Knoxville  before  daylight,  and,  there- 
fore, abandoned  the  attack.  This  fact,  however,  detracts  nothing  from 
the  cool  and  dauntless  courage,  and  skilful  and  deliberate  ai-range- 
ments  with  which  the  citizens  prepared  for  the  attack.  The  Rev.  Mr. 
Foster,  whose  quaint  pen  has  recorded  the  event,  has  declared,  that 
"  an  incident  fraught  with  so  much  magnanimity  in  the  early  fortunes 
of  Knoxville,  should  not  be  blotted  from  the  records  of  her  fame.  It 
is  an  incident  on  which  the  memory  of  her  sons  will  linger  without 
tiring,  when  the  din  of  party  shall  be  hushed,  and  its  strife  forgotten. 
Those  men  of  former  days  were  made  of  sterner  stuflF  than  to  shrink 
from  danger  at  the  call  of  duty.  And  it  will  be  left  to  a  future  his- 
torian to  do  justice  to  that  little  band  of  thirty-eight  citizens,  who 
flinched  not  from  the  deliberate  exposure  of  their  persons  in  the  open 
field,  within  the  calculated  gun-shot  of  fifteen  hundred  of  the  fleetest 
runnino-  and  boldest  savages." 

General  White  endeared  himself  to  all  about  him  by  the  noble 
charity  which,  he  showered  with  bounteous  hand  upon  the  poor  and 
needy ;  a  charity  of  which  many  instances  are  yet  remembered.  In 
that  day  grist-mills  were  few  and  far  between.  The  General  owned 
two;  and  when  grain  was  scarce  throughout  the  country,  he  often 
refused  to  sell  to  purchasers,  that  he  might  give  to  those  too  j^oor  to 
buy.  More  than  once  he  loaned  money  without  expectation  of  being 
repaid.  When  warned  by  his  son,  on  one  such  occasion,  that  he  might 
lose  the  amount  thus  advanced,  he  answered,  "  That  is  the  very  reason 
that  I  let  him  have  it.  If  he  were  rich,  he  would  need  neither  money 
nor  friends.  It  is  for  the  very  reason  that  he  is  poor  that  no  one  will 
help  him."  The  practical  Christianity  of  this  reply,  and  of  sut;h  con- 
duct, might  well  be  adopted  as  a  rule  of  action  in  our  own  times. 

While  expressing  his  pleasure  at  the  rising  prospects  of  the  village 
he  had  founded,  now  the  city  of  Knoxville,  and  in  general  at  tho 
happiness  which  he  had  been  able  to  bestow  upon  others,  he  was  told 
by  his  daughter  that  it  might  be  well  for  him  to  remember  the  old 
proverb,  that  "  Charity  begins  at  home ;"  and  that  he  would  have 
nothing  left  to  give  his  children.  "  My  children,"  he  answered,  "  are 
independent.  I  love  to  aid  those  who  really  need  assistance."  Such 
sentiments  are  frequently  enunciated ;  but  we  rarely  find  them  carried 
out  in  action  so  literally  as  they  were  by  General  White. 


GEN.    JAMES    WHITE.  7 

He  was  by  religious  profession  a  Presbyterian ;  and  a  true  and 
devout  Christian.  His  family  altar  was  faithfully  served.  It  was  one 
of  his  peculiarities  that  all  the  children  were  required  to  sing.  On 
one  occasion  he  noticed  that  a  grandson  who  was  present  failed  to 
observe  this  rule.  "  Why  don't  you  sing,  James  ?"  said  the  old  gentle- 
man. "  I  can't,  sir,"  was  the  reply.  "  Well,  try ;"  insisted  his  grand- 
father. James  did  try,  but  the  result  was  a  succession  of  sounds  so 
hideous,  that  he  was  ever  after  excused  from  participating  in  that 
portion  of  the  service. 

It  would  not  be  proper  to  close  this  brief  sketch  without  some 
notice  of  Mary  Lawson,  General  White's  noble  and  devoted  wife.  She 
was  slight  and  delicate  in  figure,  but  firm  and  decided  in  character. 
Like  her  husband^  she  was  a  devout  and  consistent  Christian,  and  a 
steady  Presbyterian ;  and  possessed  of  more  than  ordinary  intellectual 
powers.  She  had  courage  equal  to  any  endurance,  and  proved  indeed  a 
helpmeet  for  her  husband  in  the  many  severe  vicissitudes  of  their  ex- 
perience. Often,  when  the  Indians  were  prowling  in  the  vicinity,  and 
her  husband  was  absent,  she  stood  sentinel  over  her  own  home,  rifle  in 
hand.  Often  she  spent  whole  nights  in  moulding  bullets ;  and  she 
was  habituated  to  similar  hardships. 

General  White  was  married  in  1770.  His  wife  died  before  him, 
and  he  soon  followed.  They  are  united  in  a  world  far  difierent  from 
this,  but  for  which,  the  trials  of  this  were  a  fitting  preparation. 


MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON     WHITE. 


CHAPTER  11. 

CHILDHOOD YOUTH — STUDIES. 

Hugh  Lawson  White,  eldest  son  and  second  child  of  Gen.  James 
White  and  Mary  Lawson  his  wife,  was  born  in  Iredell  county.  North 
Carolina,  October  30th,  1773.  At  the  age  of  eight,  he  emigrated 
with  his  parents  to  Tennessee.  From  a  combination  of  circumstances, 
these  two  States  were  more  intimately  blended  and  incorporated  than 
any  other  two  in  the  Union.  At  this  period.  Congress  had  not 
accepted  the  act  of  the  Legislature  of  North  Carolina,  ceding  to  the 
United  States  her  Western  Territory,  to  assist  in  hquidating  the  heavy 
national  debt  incurred  in  the  achievement  of  National  Independence  j 
and  the  interests  and  feelings  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  two  common- 
wealths consequently  yet  remained  the  same.  North  Carolina,  however, 
failed  to  make  adequate  provision  for  the  defence  of  the  frontier  and 
the  protection  of  the  Western  settlers,  and  they  were  accordingly 
obliged  to  organize  themselves  and  devise  means  of  securing  the  safety 
of  themselves  and  families. 

In  the  seasons  of  loneliness  and  peril  incident  to  a  life  in  the  almost 
unbroken  wilderness,  while  their  father  was  absent  on  military  duty, 
Hugh  and  his  brothers  were  the  only  sentinels  to  watch,  and  to  warn 
their  noble  mother  when  the  savages  approached  their  dwelling  for 
plunder.  And  well  and  faithfully  was  the  task  performed.  The 
family  were  often  obliged  to  take  refuge  in  the  fort,  upon  which  occa- 
sions Hugh  always  acted  in  the  capacity  of  guide.  This  sometimes 
had  to  be  done  when  the  night  was  so  dark  that  the  person  of  the 
young  leader  was  wholly  invisible.  At  such  times  he  was  accustomed 
to  mount  a  white  horse  and  go  before  them,  that  by  distinguishing 
the  color  of  the  animal  they  might  be  able  to  follow  to  a  place  of 
comparative  safety.  After  the  treaty  of  1791,  while  the  Indians  still 
continued  their  depredations,  stealing  horses  and  cattle,  and  murdering 
the  helpless  victims  that  fell  into  their  power,  travellers  frequently 
turned  aside  from  the  fatigues  and  dangers  of  their  journey  to. enjoy 


YOUTH    AND    STUDIES.  9 

the  hospitalities  of  General  White's  house.  Their  horses,  which  were 
belled  and  turned  loose  to  graze,  sometimes  wandered  to  a  distance ; 
■when  their  owners  often  hired  young  Hugh  and  his  brothers  to  seek 
them.  In  dolnf  this  he  ran  great  risks  ;  and  in  such  youthful  enter- 
prises and  exposures  he  learned  and  proved,  even  in  early  boyhood, 
the  dauntless  courage  which  so  strongly  characterized  him  in  after 

life. 

Of  the  luxuries  of  civilization  the  family  of  General  White,  as  well 
as  their  neighbors,  were  wholly  deprived.  Added  to  the  other  dis- 
comforts of  their  situation  was  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  bread ;  there 
being  at  that  time  but  a  single  "tub-mill"  in  the  neighborhood.  It 
was  Hugh's  business  to  act  in  the  capacity  of  mill-boy,  which  he 
reo-ularly  did,  despite  the  constant  danger  from  lurking  savages. 
And  after  his  return  home,  he  often  found  way-faring  guests  enough 
to  dispose  of  all  his  meal ;  whereupon,  he  and  the  rest  of  the  family 
w  ould  make  their  repast  of  pounded  hominy  and  milk. 

It  will  easily  be  seen  that  the  circumstances  of  a  youth  passed  amid 
such  scenes  must  have  precluded  young  White  from  the  enjoyment 
even  of  such  opportunities  of  study  as  are  now  offered  to  all.  In  the 
wild  regions  where  he  lived,  refined  and  extensive  scholarship  was 
hardly  known ;  and  existed,  if  at  all,  in  the  persons  of  some  few  whose 
acquirements  were  elsewhere  made.  He  attended  such  schools  as  the 
country  afforded,  during  the  winter,  laboring  industriously  upon  his 
father's  farm  through  the  remainder  of  the  year.  In  this  manner  he 
mio-ht  acquire  a  knowledge  of  those  studies  which  were  necessary  to 
qualify  him  for  the  competent  discharge  of  the  plainest  practical  duties 
of  life,  but  nothing  more.  And  if  afterwards  he  rose  to  distinction, 
his  success  in  so  doing  is  one  more  example  of  the  success  of  noble 
ambition,  and  honorable  and  unfaltering  exertions  victorious  over  sur- 
roundino-s  the  most  unfavorable  and  disheartening.  Tliough  hundreds 
of  miles  from  any  college,  he  applied  himself,  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  to 
the  study  of  the  ancient  languages,  under  the  tuition  of  Rev.  Samuel 
Carrick,  with  some  assistance  from  Mr.  (afterwards  Judge)  Roane, 
both  gentlemen  and  scholars  of  eminence. 

But  these  literary  pursuits  were  soon  and  sadly  interrupted.  In- 
dian hostilities  still  continued.  The  inconveniences  and  sufferings  to 
which  the  settlements  were  exposed  by  savage  depredations,  were 
extreme.  Almost  daily,  reports  were  brought  into  the  stronger  settle- 
ments of  the  murder  and  scalping  of  men  and  lads,  of  the  brutal  abuse 
of  women  and  children.     The  burning  of  Cavat's  Station  in  1793,  and 


10  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

the  cruelties  inflicted  upon  the  settlers  at  that  point  by  Double  Head, 
the  Creek  chief,  and  his  followers,  while  on  their  way  to  attack  Knox- 
ville  (of  the  failure  of  which  enterprise  an  account  was  above  given), 
so  eflectually  aroused  the  apprehensions  and  indignation  of  the  whites, 
that  a  force  of  seven  hundred  volunteers  was  immediately  raised  for 
the  pursuit  and  punishment  of  the  marauders.  At  such  a  time,  it 
was  impossible  for  Hugh  L.  White  to  sit  quietly  o\'er  his  books, 
congenial  as  literary  pursuits  were  to  his  tastes  and  disposition.  With 
native  generosity  and  bravery,  he  abandoned  his  studies,  and  at  the 
age  of  nineteen  volunteered  as  a  private  soldier  in  the  Indian  campaign. 
Of  the  battle  of  Etowah,  at  which  young  White  did  good  service, 
the  following  account  is  extracted  from  Ramsey's  Annals  of  Ten- 
nessee : 

"  Finding  no  Indians  to  attack  at  Estimaula,  Sevier  took  up  his  hne  of 
march  in  the  direction  of  Etowah,  with  the  Coosa  on  the  right.  Near 
the  confluence  of  these  streams,  and  immediately  below,  was  the  Indian 
town,  EtoAvah,  The  river  of  the  same  name  had  to  be  crossed  before  the 
town  could  be  attacked.  Firing  was  heard  in  the  direction  of  the  town ; 
and  apprehending  a  general  attack,  Sevier  judiciously  ordered  a  halt,  and 
sent  forward  a  detachment  from  the  main  body  against  the  town.  By 
mistake  of  Carey  and  Findleston,  the  guides,  the  party  was  led  to  a  ferry 
half  a  mile  below  the  fording-places,  and  immediately  opposite  the  town. 
A  few  of  the  foremost  plunged  into  the  stream  and  were  soon  in  swim- 
ming water,  and  pushing  their  way  to  the  opposite  bank.  The  main 
body,  however,  discovering  the  mistake,  wheeled  to  the  left,  and  rode 
rapidly  up  the  river  to  the  ford,  where  they  crossed  with  the  design  of 
riding  down  to  the  town,  and  attacking  it  without  delay. 

"  The  Indians,  having  previously  obtained  information  of  Sevier's  ap- 
proach, had  made  excavations  in  the  bank  of  the  river  nearest  their  town, 
each  of  them  large  enough  for  one  man  to  lie  with  his  gun  poised,  and 
with  a  leisurely  aim  to  shoot  our  men  as  soon  as  they  came  in  sight.  In 
these,  the  warriors  were  safely  entrenched ;  but  perceiving  the  movement 
of  horsemen  down  the  river,  and  suspecting  some  other  project  was  de- 
vised against  their  town,  they  quitted  precipitately  their  places  of  ambush, 
crossed  the  river,  and  hurried  doAvn  on  its  other  side  to  defend  it. 

"  A  fortunate  mistake  of  the  pilots  thus  drew  this  formidable  party  out 
of  its  intrenchments,  exposed  it  in  the  open  field,  and  left  to  the  invaders 
a  safe  passage  through  that  bank  of  the  river  so  recently  lined  with  armed 
men.  But  for  this  mistake,  the  horsemen  could  not  have  escaped  a  most 
deadly  fire,  and  in  all  probability,  a  summary  defeat.  But  the  method  of 
fighting  was  now  entirely  changed.  The  crossing  by  the  horsemen  was 
too  quickly  done  to  allow  the  Indians  to  regain  their  hiding-places ;  their 


EXPEDITION    AGAINST    THE    INDIANS.  H 

ranks  were  scattered,  and  the  main  body  of  thera  hemmed  in  between 
the  assailants  and  the  river.  This  done,  tlie  men  dismounted,  betook 
themselves  to  trees,  and  poured  in  a  deadly  fire  upon  the  enemy.  They 
resisted  bravely,  imder  the  lead  of  the  King  Fisher,  one  of  their  most 
distinguished  braves.  He  made  a  daring  sally  within  a  few  yards  of 
where  one  of  the  party,  Hugh  L.  White,  was  standing,  and  the  action  was 
becoming  sharp  and  spirited,  when  "White  and  a  few  comrades  near  him, 
levelling  tlieir  rifles,  this  formidable  champion  fell,  and  his  warriors  im- 
mediately fled.* 

"  The  town  was  set  on  fire  late  in  the  evening,  and  the  troops  encamped 
near  it.  During  the  night  they  were  attacked  by  the  Indians.  McXutt 
and  Grant  were  standing  as  sentinels  in  an  exposed  point  of  the  encamp- 
ment. The  Indians  approached  stealiKily  upon  them,  and  each  of  them 
fired.     Grant  was  shot  through  the^ody,  but  ultimately  recovered. 

"After  the  engagement  the  Indians  made  good  their  escape  into  the 
secret  passes  of  the  adjoining  country.  The  army,  after  the  town  was 
burned,  rescued  from  the  places  in  which  they  were  obliged  to  conceal 
themselves.  Col.. Kelly  and  the  five  horsemen  who  had  swam  their  horses 
at  the  lower  crossing. 

"  Sevier  having  accomplished  thus  much  of  the  object  of  the  expedition, 
desired  to  extend  his  conquests  to  Indian  towns  still  lower  down  the 
country.  The  guides  informed  him  there  was  but  one  accessible  path  by 
which  the  army  could  reach  these  distant  villages,  and  that  it  could  be 
passed  only  under  disadvantageous  circumstances.  Little  hope  remained  of 
meeting  the  enemy  in  such  numbers  as  to  inflict  upon  the  perpetrators  of 
the  mischief  at  Cavat's  suitable  punishment  for  their  atrocities.  Thgy 
had  been  expelled  from  the  frontier,  the  heart  of  their  country  had  l)een 
penetrated,  their  Avarriors  defeated  and  baffled,  and  their  towns  and  crops 
bunit  up  and  destroyed.  Orders  for  the  return  march  were  given,  and 
the  army  soon  reached  their  homes  in  safety.  This  was  Gen.  Sevier's  last 
military  service." 

"  The  troops  employed  in  this  expedition" — we  quote  from  Rev.  Mr, 
Hume's  address,  above  referred  to — "  were  refused  payment,  on  the 
ground  that  it  was  undertaken  without  authority  from  the  President, 
and  in  violation  of  instructions  from  the  Department  of  War  to 
Governor  Blount,  forbidding  offensive  operations  against  the  Indians. 
In  1796,  Hugh  L.  White,  who  served  in  the  campaign,  petitioned 
Congress  for  remuneration,  with  the  view  of  establishing  a  precedent 
that  might  apply  to  all  his  fellow-soldiers.     In  January,  1Y97,  Andrew 

•  Judge  White  shot  the  King  Fisher.  Yet  such  was  his  instinctive  horror  at  the  idea  of 
destroying  human  life,  that  he  could  never  endure  to  have  the  deed  mentioned;  and  explicitly 
forbid  Dr.  Ramsey,  the  historian,  so  to  state  the  fact  in  his  "Annals." 


12  MEMOm    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

Jackson,  from  the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  to 
which  the  petition  was  referred,  reported  in  favor  of  a  provision  by 
law  for  the  payment  of  the  troops." 

That  this  was  not  the  only  occasion  upon  which  Iluo-h  L.  White 
displayed  a  lofty  and  honorable  bravery  in  the  defence  of  his  country, 
we  have  the  following  testimony  from  the  narrative  of  the  same  events, 
by  one  conversant  with  the  history  of  those  times  of  peril  and  suffer- 
ing. 

"It  was  about  the  year  1793  that  a  large  body  of  Indians  came  into 
the  settlements  on  Holston,  murdered  a  family,  and  carried  off  all  the 
plunder  which  fell  within  their  reach.  A  force  was  immediately 
raised  to  pursue  them.  Hugh  L.  White,  then  a  youth  under  twenty, 
made  one  of  the  party.  The  battle  was  fought  on  the  banks  of  a 
river  whose  current  was  rapid,  and  its  crossing  difficult.  The 
Indians  took  advantage  of  this  position,  and  attacked  the  Avhite  men  as 
they  passed  the  stream ;  one  detachment  of  the  latter  having  rushed 
forward,  rose  the  steep  ascent,  and  were  in  the  midst  of  the  enemy  at 
once,  when  an  obstinate  conflict  ensued  ;  whilst  the  other  party  waited 
under  the  bank  to  form,  where  they  continued  until  the  battle  was 
fougliK;  and  won — until  the  war-whoops  ceased  to  be  heard,  and  until 
the  report  of  the  rifle  died  away  in  the  distance  ;  then  they  formed  a 
most  excellent  line,  presented  an  unbroken  front,  marched  boldly  up, 
and  deliberately  took  possession  of  all  the  plunder,  to  the  last  beaver- 
skin.  When  the  fighting-men^returned  from  the  pursuit.  White,  who 
had  been  from  the  start  amongst  the  foremost  of  them,  found  that 
one  of  these  bank-men,  in  his  eagerness  for  the  spoils  of  victorv,  had 
taken  possession  of  his  wallet  of  provisions,  which  had  got  Lost  in  the 
scufiJe.  But  he  demanded  that  as  his  own  right,  and  made  him  give 
it  up."  Upon  this  unimportant  occasion,  as  often  aftei'wards  in  more 
critical  contingencies,  young  White,  though  he  scorned  to  strive  for, 
or  to  appropriate,  any  share  of  the  spoil,  contended  obstinately  and 
uncompromisingly  for  the  full  extent  of  the  rights  involved. 

During  this  expedition,  while  the  Tennessee  troops  were  encamped  at 
Estimaula,  on  the' Coosa  River,  a  little  adventure  occurred,  which  gave 
quite  unexpected  evidence  of  the  dexterous  strength  contained  in  the 
slender  frame  of  our  young  soldier.  Colonel  Blair,  of  the  Washing- 
ington  District,  had  given  to  Colonel  Christy,  of  the  Hamilton  Dis- 
trict, a  sort  of  challenge,  after  the  old  Scriptural  fashion  of  Abner's 
suggestion  to  Joab.  "Let  the  young  men  arise  and  play  before 
us."     He  said,  in  other  words,  that  a  certain  man  in  his  regiment 


PRIVATE    SECRETAKYSmP.  13 

could  "  Avhip  any  other  man  on  the  ground."  With  tliis,  of  course, 
a  wrestling-match  was  arranged  ;  and  Colonel  Christy  appointed  to 
the  championship,  on  his  part,  Hugh  L.  White,  who  was  by  far  the 
most  delicate-looking  man  in  the  regiment.  The  challenger  made 
his  appearance  ;  his  gigantic  stature  anil  brawny  frame  inspiring  the 
stoutest  with  awe  ;  the  combatants  laid  aside  their  coats,  and  entered 
the  ring ;  both  regiments  being  quite  confident  that  the  victory  was 
safe  for  the  "  biggest  bones."  But,  to  the  astonishment  of  all,  the 
slender  AVhite,  after  a  long  and  doubtful  struggle,  overthrew  his  burly 
antagonist,  and  retired  with  his  laurels,  amidst  the  shouts  of  the 
whole  multitude. 

At  the  age  of  twenty,  Hugh  L.  White  was  appointed  Private 
Secretary  to  Governor  Blount ;  for  his  strong  and  elastic  intellect,  his 
habits  of  laborious  application,  and  his  determined  practice  of  doing 
well  and  thoroughly  whatever  he  undertook,  had  already  rendered 
him  conspicuous  for  talent  and  ability.  Mr.  Blount,  in  addition  to  the 
office  of  Territorial  Governor,  held  the  important  and  responsible  post 
of  Superintendent  of  Indian  Afiairs;  which  devolved  upon  him  the 
manao-ement  of  all  neirotiations  and  transactions  with,  and  concern- 
ing  the  Cherokee,  Creek,  Choctaw,  and  Chickasaw  tribes.  The  duties 
of  these  two  stations  were  arduous  and  complicated  in  the  extreme ; 
requiring  the  most  wise,  patient,  and  skilful  management.  The 
Federal  authorities  restricted  the  Territorial  Government  to  purely 
defensive  warfare ;  and  the  settlements  were  but  scantily  pro- 
vided with  able-bodied  men.  The  Indian  nations,  however,  were 
strong  in  numbers  and  in  physical  power.  Naturally  ferocious  and 
relentless,  their  savage  passions  were,  moreover,  continually  nourished 
and  stimulated  by  the  contrivances  of  Spanish  and  British  traders, 
interested  against  the  quiet  and  prosperity  of  the  white  settlers.  In 
each  tribe  there  was  a  minority  which  fixithfully  adhered  to  the 
United  States.  This  circumstance  produced  continual  dissensions 
and  disputes  among  themselves,  for  the  adjustment  of  which  resort 
was  had  to  Governor  Blount.  In  all  the  intricate  and  critical  duties 
of  this  active  service,  as  well  as  in  the  accompanying  heavy  official 
correspondence  with  individuals  and  public  functionaries,  the  young 
Secretary  so  faithfully  and  efficiently  aided  the  Governor,  as  to  secure 
to  himself  the  life-long  confidence  and  affection  of  that  eminent  man, 
as  well  as  the  esteem  of  his  fellow-citizens  of  the  Territory. 

Having  thus  borne  himself  with  gallantry  and  honor  during  the 
war,  young  White,  at  its  close,  determined  to  pursue  a  course  of 


14  MEMOm    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

mathematical  study  at  Philadelphia,  under  the  supervision  of  Pro- 
fessor Patterson.  But  here  a  temporary  diflBculty  arose.  General 
White,  his  father,  although  possessed  of  extensive  and  valuable 
landed  property,  was  never,  owing  to  his  excessive  liberality,  a  man 
of  wealth,  and  could  not,  at  the  time,  command  the  means  necessary 
to  accomplish  the  laudable  desire  of  his  son.  It  is  due  to  the  gene- 
rosity of  General  White's  son-in-law.  Colonel  Charles  McClung,  to 
say  that,  in  this  strait,  he  kindly  came  forward  and  advanced  the 
money  necessary  to  complete  the  education  of  his  brother-in-law. 

In  1795,  Hugh  L.  White  left  Philadelphia  for  Lancaster,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  he  engaged  with  great  zeal  and  energy  in  the  study  of 
the  law,  under  the  instructions  of  James  Hopkins,  an  eminent  coun- 
sel of  that 'place.  As  a  proof  of  his  continued  attachment  to  the 
people  of  ^PennsyIvania,  after  a  lapse  of  thirty-two  years,  it  may  not 
be  inappropriate  to  quote  here  an  extract  from  a  speech  made  at  a 
dinner  given  to  him  in  Kuoxville,  in  1827  : 

"  I  ask  but  one  favor  more,  and  that  is,  that  you  join  me  in  a  senti- 
ment, in  relation  to  a  people,  -who,  next  to  those  of  my  own  and  native 
State,  I  most  esteem  ;  amongst  whom  I  have  spent  a  small  portion  of  my 
early  life,  which  I  reflect  upon  with  much  satisfaction,  because  it  was 
spent  inoffensively  and  pleasantly,  if  not  profitably.  I  offer  you — '  The 
feople  of  Pennsylvania.  Modest  and  unpretending;  too  enlightened  to 
be  misled,  and  too  virtuous  to  be  seduced  from  Eepublicau  princi- 
ples.' " 


CHAPTER    III. 

LAWYER   AND   JUDGE. 

Havikg  completed  the  usual  course  of  preparatory  study,  Mr. 
White  returned  to  KnoxvUle,  and  in  IV 90  assumed  a  station  at  the 
Tennessee  bar,  with  favorable  prospects ;  and  very  soon,  if  his  con- 
temporaries may  be  credited,  rose  to  a  place  which  he  maintained  for 
years,  at  the  head  of  his  profession. 

After  he  had  passed  away  from  the  busy  scenes  of  time,  one  who 
knew  him  well,  and  was  himself,  distinguished  for  more  than  ordinary 
talents,  wrote  in  the  following  terms  of  his  powers,  both  as  a  lawyer 
and  a  judge — 

"  Judge  Hugh  L.  Wliite,"  he  says,  "  was  a  remarkable  man — remark- 
able for  his  eccentricities,  and  for  the  very  high  order  of  his  moral 
and  mental  endowments.  He  had  but  little  taste  and  care  for  polite 
scholarship  and  general  literature.  His  great  superiority  was,  not  in 
his  moral  integrity,  which  was  equal  to  the  very  best  any  where  to  be 
found,  for  many  first-rate  moralists  there  are  to  equal  anybody.  His 
great  eminence — the  especial  gift  of  God,  and  inherited  directly  from 
his  mother,  Mary  Lawson,  consisted  in  all  those  peculiar  points  of  in- 
tellect, which  made  the  lawyer  and  the  judge.  In  this  order  of  mental 
endowments  he  had  not  five  equals  in  America,  and  perhaps  but  two 
superiors — John  Marshall  and  John  Haywood.  The  superiority  of 
these  two  men  over  him,  was  the  result  only  of  circumstances.  Like 
John  Marshall,  Hugh  L.  White  was  a  great  lawyer  and  a  great  judge, 
even  without  reading  and  without  books.  Naturally  enough  for  him, 
he  despised  a  'case  lawyer,'  and  still  more,  a  mere  case  judged 

During  the  following  five  years,  he  devoted  himself  assiduously  to 
his  studies  and  his  business;  steadily  increasing  and  extending  his 
reputation  for  honesty,  industry,  and  ability.  The  whole  results  of 
the  professional  efforts  of  those  five  years,  eternity  only  can  disclose ; 
but  time  has  already  developed  enough  to  demonstrate  that  Hugh  L. 
White  is  entitled  to  an  overflowing  measure  of  the  purest  and  loftiest 

15 


16  MEMOIE    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

fame  wliich  the  noblest  professional  exertions  of  the  lawyer  can  give — 
the  fame  of  powerful  benevolence — of  earnestly  and  effectively  pro- 
motinof  the  welfare  of  his  fellow-men.  There  are  none  who  are  con- 
versant  w'ith  his  own  history,  and  with  the  history  of  East  Tennessee, 
•who  cannot  remember  many  irrefutable  testimonies  to  his  praise — 
tears  of  gratitude,  shed  by  wives  whose  hxisbands  his  powerful  argu- 
ments have  saved  from  the  hangman's  rope,  and  blessings  of  children 
whose  fathers  have  been  preserved  from  the  brand  of  blood-guiltiness. 
There  are  men  even  now  living,  whose  powerful  frames  will  heave  with 
mighty  emotion  when  they  speak  of  him,  who  now  rests  so  quietlj'^  from 
his  labors ;  not  only  because"  as  a  lawyer  he  argued  their  cases,  but 
because  as  a  kind  and  sympathizing  friend  he  lifted  them  from  depths 
of  degradation  and  crime,  and  with  words  of  kindly  counsel,  as  well  as 
by  his  own  pure  and  lofty  example,  encouraged  them  to  "  go,  and  sin 
no  more." 

The  noble  powers  of  his  vigorous  and  elastic  intellect,  and  the 
whole  exertions  of  an  uncommon  faculty  of  steady  and  laborious 
application,  were  scrupulously  devoted  to -the  interests  of  his  clients. 
His  invariable  punctuality  to  every  engagement,  and  his  faithfulness 
in  the  discharge  of  every  responsibility  gave  him  so  strong  an  addi- 
tional hold  upon  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  the  community,  that  it 
would  have  been  difficult  to  empannel  a  jury  not  already  strongly 
inclined  in  his  favor.  This  predisposition  w-as  always  corroborated  by 
his  straightforward  contempt  for  any  advantages  derivable  from  legal 
quibbles,  even  in  advance  of  the  weight  of  his  argumentation,  and  the 
influence  of  the  fervent  earnestness  with  which  he  plead  his  cause. 

At  the  end  of  this  short  term  of  practice,  Mr.  White's  legal  acquire- 
ments and  abilities  had  given  him  such  a  professional  reputation,  that, 
in  1801,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-eight,  he  was  elected  Judge  of  the 
Superior  Court,  then  the  highest  judicial  tribunal  in  the  State.  Con- 
centrated and  successful  assiduity  in  the  study  of  his  profession  had 
already,  however,  prepared  him  to  perform  with  credit  the  important 
functions  of  this  high  station.  Possessed  of  an  eminently  legal  mind, 
he  had  equal  or  superior  moral  endowments.  In  the  practice  of  law 
he  had  ever  applied  the  principles  of  justice  ;  and  had  to  an  uncom- 
mon extent  escaped  the  one-sided  habits  of  thought,  and  incapacity 
of  balancing  both  sides  of  a  question,  which  is  the  common  fate  of  the 
mere  attorney. 

While  on  the  bench,  his  intercourse  with  the  members  of  the  bar 
was  marked  by  the  kindliness  and  genuine  courtesy  w^hich  character- 


PUBLIC    APPOINTMENTS.  17 

ized  him  in  every  relation  in  life.  He  assumed  no  personal  nor  official 
superiority,  nor  exhibited  any  favoritism  or  preference,  unless  such 
names  could  be  applied  to  a  constant  readiness  to  aid  and  encourao-e 
the  younger  lawyers,  and  to  aftbrd  them  every  fair  opportunity  of 
getting  into  notice  and  business. 

In  1809,  Judge  White  was  appointed  District  Attorney  of  the 
United  States,  but  soon  resigned  the  office ;  for  the  reason,  stated  in 
a  letter  to  James  Madison,  then  Secretary  of  State,  that  he  found  it 
impossible  to  attend  at  once  to  the  duties  of  the  office,  and  to  others 
■which  he  considered  paramount ;  and  that  by  the  constitution  of  the 
State,  he  should,  by  acceptance  of  the  Attorneyship,  be  precluded 
from  taking  the  seat  in  the  Legislature,  to  which  he  had  been 
re-elected. 

In  th6  same  year  the  judiciary  of  Tennessee  was  organized  anew, 
and  a  supreme  court  established,  in  which,  although  not  a  candidate 
for  the  office,  he  was  appointed  to  preside.  He  held  this  station  six 
years  ;  during  which  time  he  was  continually  associated  with  the  most 
eminent  men  in  Tennessee,  and  by  the  able  and  impartial  discharge  of 
his  duties,  gave  universal  satisfeiction.  The  perspicuity,  accuracy,  and 
uncompromising  honesty  of  his  opinions  raised  him  into  such  high 
and  universal  estimation,  that  his  final  resignation  of  his  seat  was 
received  with  great  and  unmingled  regret. 

At  the  close  of  his  appointment  as  Spanish  Commissioner,  in  1824, 
he  was  again  unanimously  appointed  by  the  legislature,  Judge  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Errors  and  Appeals  of  the  State  of  Tennessee,  but 
declined  the  appointment,  alleging  in  his  letter  of  declinature  to 
Governor  Carroll,  his  feeble  health,  and  the  fact  that  his  acceptance 
would  compel  a  number  of  clients  to  seek  new  counsel ;  thus,  in  his 
opinion,  causing  them  more  injury  than  would  be  compensated  by  his 
acceptance,  with  no  fairer  prospect  of  ability  for  the  discharo-e  of  the 
duties  of  the  office.  This  declinature  is  an  honorable  instance  of  self- 
saciifice  and  devotion  to  the  interests  of  his  fellow-men. 

On  more  than  one  occasion  Judge  White  was  offered  a  seat  on  the 
bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  by  President 
Jackson ;  but  this  appointment  he  steadily  refused.  This  refusal  may 
be  considered  fortunate,  in  saving  Judge  White  from  coming  under 
any  real  or  fancied  obligations  to  the  dominant  political  party,  and 
more  especially,  as  being  the  means  of  preserving  a  noble  example  of 
purity  and  high-minded  disinterestedness  where  it  certainly  was 
needed — in  the  field  of  political  action. 

2 


18  MEMOm    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

A  single  short  anecdote,  relating  to  this  portion  of  Judge  White's 
public  life,  will  naturally  conclude  this  chapter.  A  law  student,  living 
at  a  considerable  distance,  had  come  to  Knoxville  for  a  license. 
Having  heard  much  of  the  professional  learning  and  ability  of  Judge 
White,  he  proceeded  to  his  residence,  and  with  great  trepidation 
inquired  for  him ;  thinking  possibly  that  the  judge  would  receive 
him  "  with  his  ermine  on,"  and  with  an  imposing  display  of  official 
pomp.  Being  told  that  the  Judge  was  at  his  farm,  he  went  in  search 
of  him ;  and  discovering  an  individual  very  busily  engaged  in 
ploughing,  inquired  for  Judge  White.  "  I  am  the  man,  sir,"  was  the 
answer.  "  I  wish  to  obtain  a  law  license,"  said  the  young  man  ;  "  and 
have  come  to  be  examined."  "  Well,  sir,"  replied  the  Judge,  "  if  you 
will  be  good  enough  to  come  down  into  the  shade,  I  will  attend  to 
the  business  with  great  pleasure."  So  the  Judge  fastened  his  horse, 
selected  a  shady  seat,  invited  the  aspirant  to  another,  subjected  him 
forthwith  to  a  searching  examination,  found  him  well  qualified,  invited 
him  to  partake  of  the  hospitalities,  of  his  house,  made  out  the  required 
license,  and  returned  to  his  plough-handle. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


A  STATE  LEGISLATOR. 


In  1807,  Judge  White  was  elected  a  member  of  the  State  Senate; 
and  re-elected  in  1809.  So  acceptably  did  he  perform  the  duties  of 
this  position,  that  he  was  a  third  time,  in  1817,  requested  to  resume 
it,  which  he  consented  to  do,  and  was  elected  by  a  vote  nearly  unani- 
mous. During  the  session  of  1807,  he  compiled  the  present  state 
system  of  Land  Laws,  and  procured  their  enactment ;  a  service  for 
which  all  Tennesseans  who  remember  the  destructive  frauds  and 
violent  and  bitter  controversies  which  were  frequently  attendant  upoa 
the  old  system,  must  still  feel  ghateful.  On  this  occasion  he  delivered 
his  first  political  speech,  which  was  acknowledged  to  be  a  production 
of  great  power  and  cogency.  In  1817,  he  took  charge  of  a  bill  intro- 
duced by  Mr.  Trimble,  a  member  from  Davidson  county,  taxing  very 
heavily  any  banking  institution  which  should  attempt  to  do  business 
in  the  State  without  a  charter  from  it.  The  object  of  this  bill,  which 
was  generally  approved,  and  indeed  passed  almost  unanimously,  was 
to  prevent  the  Directors  of  the  United  States  Bank  from  establishin<r 
a  branch  bank  in  the  State.  We  shall  here  proceed  to  narrate,  though 
out  of  their  strict  order  in  time,  certain  subsequent  occurrences  relat- 
ing to  this  bill,  for  the  sake  of  the  connection,  and  to  exemplify  the 
State  patriotism  and  disinterestedness  with  which  Judge  White  could 
advocate  the  undefended  cause  of  the  absent,  notwithstandinof  his 
dissent  from  their  political  opinions,  and  disapproval  of  their  course: 
and  that  without  sacrificing  his  own  consistency  or  beliefs.  Four 
months  before  the  passage  of  .this  bill  in  the  State  Legislature,  an 
application  had  been  made  for  the  establishment  in  Nashville  of  a 
branch  of  the  United  States  Bank,  which  was  signed  by  sixty  of  the 
most  influential  citizens  of  the  town  and  its  vicinity.  At  the  head  of 
this  list  stood  the  name  of  the  Hon.  Felix  Grundy.  In  the  face  of 
this  petition  however  the  bill  passed,  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  a 
large  majority  of  the  people  of  the  State,  so  far  at  least  as  could  be 

*  He  received  every  vote  but  oue  in  Knox  county. 


20  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

judged  from  the  cordiality  with  which  their  representatives  wera 
received  by  them,  and  the  number  of  them  afterwards  re-elected. 

This  act  of  this  body  was  prominently  noticed  in  the  Senate  Chamber 
of  the  United  States,  as  late  as  April  20th,  1838,  when  the  Adminis 
tration,  influenced  greatly  in  its  geiieral  policy  by  General  Jackson, 
was  making  powerful  efforts  to  carry  through  its  favorite  scheme,  the 
passage  of  "  A  bill  to  prevent  the  issuing  and  circulation  of  the  bills, 
notes,  and  securities  of  corporations,  created  by  Congress,  which  have 
expired."  During  the  discussion  Mr.  Benton  read  a  letter  from 
General  Jackson,  dated  Nov.  29th,  1837,  in  which,  to  manifest  his 
utter  aversion  to  the  banking  system,  he  denominated  these  sixty 
gentlemen,  many  of  them  his  own  friends  and  honest  supporters,  and 
some  of  them  determined  to  stand  by  and  defend  his  administration 
at  all  hazards,  an  "  aristocratic  few,"  attempting  to  carry  their  own 
ends,  in  defiance  of  the  State  authority.  When  subsequently.  Mr. 
Grundy  in  particular,  and  perhaps  others  of  these  gentlemen,  appar- 
ently forgetful  of  having  ever  borne  any  part  in  the  movement,  thus 
so  severely  condemned  by  General  Jackson,  made  war  upon  the  whole 
banking  system — "  war,"  in  Mr.  Grundy's  strong  and  emphatic  lan- 
guage, "  to  the  knife,  and  the  knife  to  the  hilt" — Judge  White,  though 
the  main  instrument  in  the  passage  of  the  law,  in  opposition  to  the 
wishes  of  the  sixty,  hearing  them  thus  denounced  upon  the  floor  of 
the  Senate,  spoke  in  their  defence.  Although  Mr.  Grundy  off"ered  not 
a  word  of  apology  or  explanation  for  them  or  for  himself,  Judge  White 
exculpated  them  from  the  serious  charge  of  attempting  that  which 
was  expressly  prohibited  by  the  laws  of  their  State,  by  showing  that 
their  petition  was  prepared  and  presented  before  the  enactment  of 
the  law  for  taxino;  foreio^n  banks  doing;  business  in  Tennessee.  During 
this  debate.  Judge  White  showed  that  General  Jackson,  in  1818, 
while  that  law  was  in  full  force,  in  anticipation  of  the  establishment 
of  this  bank  at  Nashville,  signed  recommendations  of  two  gentlemen, 
one  tor  President,  and  the  other  for  Cashier ;  thus  lending  to  the 
scheme  the  sanction  of  his  name>  and  even,  in  order  that  it  might 
have  its  full  weight,  appending  his  former  official  title  of  "Major 
General,  Southern  Division";  to  which,  as  Judge  Wliite  insisted,  he 
then  had  no  right.  During  this  forcible  exposition  of  the  var}ing  and 
inconstant  courses  of  men  in  high  positions,  Judge  White  also  I'ead  a 
document  transmitted  to  the  President  and  Directors  of  the  United 
States  Bank  at  Philadelphia,  dated  in  1818,  containing  the  proceed- 
ings of  a  town  meeting  at  Nashville,  and  likewise  a  letter  from  the 


CONTROVERSY   WITH   MR.    GRUNDY.  Si 

Nashville  committee  of  sixty,  headed  by  Mr.  Grundy,  in  which  this 
same  legislature  is  most  contemptuou-sly  spoken  of;  from  each  of 
which  documents  we  make  an  extract.     The  town  meetin"- 

Resolved — "  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  meeting,  that  the  State  law  passed 
hy  the  legislature  of  this  State,  in  taxing  banks  to  be  established  in  this 
State  by  an  authority  other  than  the  laws  of  this  State,  while  the  banks 
established  by  the  authority  of  the  State  are  not  taxed,  is  impolitio  and 
unconstitutional." 

The  committee  in  their  letter  say  : 

"  In  making  this  statement  to  you,  we  are  influenced  by  what  wd 
believe  a  duty  we  owe  to  the  character  of  Tennessee.  For  she  has  not 
been  less  uniform  in  her  political  principle,  and  inviolable  attachment  to 
the  general  government,  than  distinguished  for  her  alacrity  and  prowess 
in  defending  the  honor  of  the  Union.  And  lest  persons  at  a  distance 
should  suppose  from  her  legislature  having  inconsiderably  raised  the  arm 
of  hostility  against  a  great  fiscal  establishment  of  the  general  govern- 
ment, that  her  character  was  not  to  be  confided  in,  we  seize  with  pleasure 
every  opportunity  to  show  to  the  world  that  such  conclusion  is  erroneous/' 

There  was  also  a  private  letter  from  Judge  Grundy  to  this  same 
bank  at  Philadelphia  (which  Judge  Grundy  admitted  to  Judge  White, 
while  in  the  presence  of  Col.  Benton  and  others,  to  be* a  true  copy); 
which  Judge  "White  read  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate,  as  follows : 

Nashville,  February  14,  1818, 
"Dear  Sir:  From  a  knowledge  that  some  acquaintance  must  have 
been  formed  between  you  and  myself  at  Washington,  many  of  my  neigh- 
bors have  frequently  solicited  me  to  forward  to  you  a  list  of  the  names 
of  fit  persons  to  whom  to  confide  the  management  of  a  branch  bank  of 
the  United  States  at  this  place.  I  have  heretofore  declined  it,  nor  should 
I  at  any  time  have  said  anything  on  the  subject,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
puerile  attempt  of  our  last  Legislature  to  prevent  an  establishment  of  a 
branch  here  altogether.  The  motives  which  gave  birth  to  that  measure 
were  selfish,  the  policy  contracted,  and  the  views  of  such  men  cannot  be 
liberal  and  impartial.  Any  number,  from  seven  to  thirteen,  might  be 
selected  from  the  following,  and  the  choice  could  not  be  a  bad  one. 
Jenkin  Whitesides,  Andreio  Hays,  Randall  McGavocke,  John  P.  Fncin, 
Thomas  II.  Fletcher,  James  Stewart,  Felix  Eobertson,  Ilohert  Weakly, 
Elihu  S.  Hall,  Alfred  Balch,  William  Carroll,  Thomas  Hill,  George  w'. 
Gibbs,  Robert  C.  Foster,  Samtiel  Zelford. 

''Those p-inted  in  italics  are  merchants;  the  others,  substantial  free. 


23  MEMOIR  OF   HUGH  LAWSON   WHITE. 

holders,  and  men  of  intelligence.  A  board  of  managers  selected  from 
them  would,  in  my  opinion,  conduct  the  affairs  of  the  institution  with 
ability  and  integrity.  Although  you  and  the  directors  have  a  discretion 
as  to  number,  between  seven  and  thirteen,  I  would  submit  to  you  the 
proptiety  of  the  largest  number.  It  may  have  an  effect  in  keeping  down 
that  spirit  of  opposition  which  has  hitherto  manifested  itself. 

*'  I  have  no  fears  that  any  attempt  will  be  made  to  enforce  the  Ten- 
nessee law.  Should  there  be,  it  will  be  re-visited  with  effect  here,  no 
concern  need  be  felt  on  that  subject.  Should  there  be  no  impropriety  in 
it,  I  should  like  to  know  when  you  will  put  the  institution  in  operation 
here?  and  it  would  seem  to  me  that  some  persons  should  be  authorized 
beforehand  to  provide  a  house,  &c.  You  will  excuse  me  for  the  freedom 
of  my  suggestions.     If  unnecessary,  they  are  harmless." 

Your  obedient  servant, 

Felix  Grundy. 

Wm.  Jones,  Esq.,  President  U.  S.  Bank,  Philadelphia. 

"P.  S. — Although  this  is  addressed  to  you  only,  I  have  no  objection 
to  its  being  seen  by  any  of  the  directors. 

F.  G." 

Judge  White  then  added,  "This  letter  was  written  in  1818.  It 
remained  a  secret  in  the  hands,  and  for  the  guidance  of,  a  directory  of 
a  powerful  monied  institution,  from  the  time  of  its  receipt,  till  1835, 
without  any  one  of  those  calumniated  in  it,  having  any  suspicion 
that  among  their  acquaintances  there  could  be  found  a  man,  capable 
of  thus  stabbing  their  reputation  in  the  dark.  It  was  brought  to 
light  by  the  investigating  committee,  and  from  the  time  I  first  saw  it, 
until  now,  I  have  never  been  able  to  think  favorably  of  its  author. 
The  man  who  could  thus  treat  me  might  deceive  me  once,  but  he  never 
will  a  second  time,  unless,  perchance,  he  should  hereafter  do  some  act, 
which  comports  with  the  character,  of.  an  honorable  man."  Mr. 
Grundy  was  forced  to  make  a  rejoinder,  which  embraced  a  confession 
of  having  done  all  Judge  White  had  charged  him  with  doing — even 
to  speaking,  writing,  reporting,  and  memorializing  in  favor  of  a  U.  S. 
Bank  and  of  a  branch  institution  at  Nashville.  In  the  following  June 
Mr.  Grundy  replied  to  Judge  White's  remarks,  which  he  affected  to 
repel  with  disdain  and  scorn,  and  attributed  them  to  the  predominance 
of  prejudice  and  passion  in  the  bosom  of  the  latter.  Judge  White 
replied  with  much  spirit  and  effect  to  Mr.  Grundy's  defence.  *'  He 
hoped  never  to  see  the  day  when  he  would  be  obliged  to  take  six 
weeks  to  prepare  and  con  over  an  answer  to  any  speech ;  he  regretted 
sincerely  to  know  that  his  colleague  had  grown  so  deaf  of  late,  as  not 


DUELLING.  23 

to  have  heard  the  whole  of  his  remarks.  But,"  asked  Judge  White, 
"  what  is  the  substance  of  his  reply,  so  long  in  coming  ?  Does  he 
controvert  a  single  fact?  Does  he  attack  a  single  position?  Does 
he  meet  a  single  argument  of  mine  ?  Take  his  reply  now  and  at  the 
time  my  speech  was  delivered,  and  can  you  find  in  either,  a  single 
fact  alle<Ted  by  me,  denied  or  controverted  ?  No,  sir !  no  discipline, 
no  drilling  can  bring  him  to  deny  anything  advanced.  I  will  not 
take  back  a  word  (continued  Judge  W.) ;  nothing  but  the  character 
of  this  place  prevents  me  from  saying  more :  and  my  colleague  has 
permission  to  believe  that  I  have  spoken  out  of  the  Senate,  what  I 
have  spoken  here." 

To  this  thorough  exposition  no  reply  was  possible,  and  none  was 
made. 

In  the  session  of  the  Tennessee  legislature  of  1817,  Judge  White 
drafted  an  act  for  the  prevention  of  duelling,  which  effectually  pre- 
served that  State  from  becoming  the  scene  of  this  horrible  and  sense- 
less mode  of  indulging  personal  enmity.     He  held  in  ut^er  abhorrence 
this  wicked  and  desperate  practice  of  setting  at  naught  one's  own  life, 
the  life  of  an  antagonist,  and  the  peace  and  happiness  of  the  many 
interested  on  either  side.     His  whole  private  and  public  life  may 
attest  his  high  sense  of  honor ;  but  he  would  never  admit  that  duelling 
is  the  proper  means  for  its  defence  when  assailed.     He  maintained 
that  it  required  far  greater  courage  to  refuse  to  fight,  in  the  face  of  the 
so-called  "laws  of  honor"  than  to  fight;  and  avowed  himself  deficient 
in  that  sort  of  courage  which  was  requisite  either  to  rush  unbidden 
into  the  presence  of  his  God  before  the  appointed  time,  and  without 
having  finished  the  work  assigned  to  him  on  earth,  or  to  consign  his 
fellow-creatures  to  a  like  destiny.     His  views  upon  this  subject  made 
a  lasting  impression  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  State. 
In  East  Tennessee,  where  he  was  best  known,  and  exerted  the  most 
profound  influence,  an  aversion  to  duelling  is  proverbial.     Men  ever 
ready  to  defend  their  rights,  to  protect  the  defenceless  from  all  aggres- 
sions, or  at  an  hour's  warning  to  go  forth  armed  at  their  country's 
call,  shun  the  reputation  of  the  duellist,  and  the  crime  of  the  duel. 

These  measures,  important  and  meritorious  as  they  were,  are  only 
a  few,  selected  from  the  many  important  services  rendered  by  Judge 
White  to  his  own  State  while  a  member  of  her  legislature ;  although 
it  is  impossible  in  this  place  to  do  more  than  barely  make  allusion  to 
the  remainder. 


CHAPTER  V. 

PATRIOJIC  EPISODE WILDERNESS  JOURNEY  TO  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

In  the  spring  of  1812,  an  Indian  styling  himself  "The  Prophet,'^ 
belonging  to  the  Northern  tribe  of  Shawnees,  who,  partly  instigated 
by  the  British,  were  making  preparations  for  a  war  against  the  United 
States,  despatched  his  brother  Tecumseh  to  the  Creek  Indians,  inhabit- 
ing the  tract  of  country  between  the  Chattahoochee  and  Tombigbee 
rivers,  and  extending  from  the  Tennessee  river  to  the  Florida  line,  for 
the  purpose  tof  enlisting  the  Southern  tribes  in  the  same  enterprise. 
After  repeated  conferences,  Tecumseh  succeeded  in  infusing  into  the 
minds  of  several  of  their  most  influential  leaders  a  feeling  of  deadly 
hostility  towards  the  whites.  These  chiefs,  in  turn,  by  their  intrigues 
and  harangues,  at  length  aroused  an  insatiate  desire  for  warfare  in  the 
majority  of  the  nation.  They  resolved  upon  instant  hostilities ;  and 
savage  incursions  of  the  usual  sudden  and  devastating  nature  ensued. 
Whole  families  were  horribly  butchered.  All  the  frontier  of  Georgia 
and  Southern  Tennessee,  at  once  became  the  scene  of  frightful  out- 
rages ;  and  this  cruel  warfare  was  waged,  not  only  against  the  whites, 
but  also  against  such  of  the  Creeks  as  were  disposed  to  preserve  their 
friendship  with  them.  Many  peaceable  Indians  were  thus  driven  to 
take  refuge  with  such  settlers  as  they  might  have  formerly  befriended, 
or  with  whom  they  might  otherwise  have  amicable  relations. 

The  treacherous  massacre  of  Fort  Minims,  which  took  place 
August  30t&,  1812,  awoke  a  universal  feeling  of  horror  and  violent 
resentment  throughout  Tennessee.  Her  legislature,  which  convened 
a  few  days  afterwards,  passed  an  act  authorizing  the  Executive,  in 
conformity  with  instructions  previously  received  from  the  Secretary 
of  War,  to  call  into  the'  field  three  thousand  five  hundred  volunteers, 
and  to  commence  a  vigorous  campaign  against  the  enemy.  To 
guard  against  all  contingencies,  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  were 
voted  for  their  support.  General  Jackson,  who  was  supposed  to  be 
better  qualified  than  any  other  man  in  the  State,  having  been  appointed 


EXPEDITION   TO   AID   JACKSON.  25 

by  the  Governor  to  the  command  of  the  Second  Division  of  Tennessee 
Militia,  and  having  received  orders  for  immediate  action,  hastened  to 
carr}'  them  into  effect.  He  accordingly  set  out  early  in  October  and 
was  soon  encamped  on  the  borders  of  the  enemy's  country. 

Rumors  of  General  Jackson's  near  approach  to  the  Creek  Nation,  and 
of  the  strong  probability  that  he  would  be  opposed  by  a  considerable 
body  of  Creeks,  arrived  almost  daily  at  Knoxville.  Then  it  was 
reported  that  he  was  surrounded  with  serious  difficulties ;  that  his 
brave  men  were  contending  not  only  with  the  sons  of  the  forest,  but 
with  ffimine  and  want,  even  to  the  extremity  of  sustaining  life  on 
"  roots  and  acorns."  Hoping  to  be  able  to  render  some  relief  to  his 
countrymen  in  their  distressed  and  destitute  condition.  Judge  White 
left  the  bench,  and  with  two  other  companions,  the  Honorable  Luke 
Lea,  and  Honorable  Thomas  L.  Williams,  started  for  the  wilderness. 
After  several  days  and  nights  of  perilous  adventure,  they  reached  the 
encampment  of  the  East  Tennessee  troops,  at  Fort  Armstrong  on 
the  Coosa,  on  the  13th  of  November.  Here  they  learned  from  Gene- 
ral Cocke  that  owing  to  some  disaffection  among  his  troops,  no  junc- 
tion had  been  formed  between  the  East  and  West  Tennessee  divisions, 
that  for  want  of  a  messenger  no  communication  had  passed  between 
them,  and  that  General  Jackson  did  not  even  know  the  reasons  which 
led  to  General  White's  return  from  Turkey-town.*  Judge  White 
expressed  great  an^xiety  for  the  fate  of  the  West  Tennessee  division, 
and  fear  that  they  might  be  cut  off,  or  very  materially  injured,  for 
the  want  of  that  support  which  had  been  expected  from  the  East 
Tennessee  troops;  and  offered  to  be  the  bearer  of  any  despatches 
General  Cocke  might  choose  to  send.      He  accordingly  left    on  the 

.  *  It  is  proper  here  to  advert  to  the  charges  or  insinuations  of  insubordination,  or  other 
sinister  motives,  which  were  made  by  General  Jackson's  biographers,  at  and  since  this  time, 
against  General  White,  for  joining  General  Cocl£e,  instead  of  continuing  on  to  join  Jaclison  at 
Fort  Strother,  at  the  time  alluded  to  in  the  text.  The  truth  of  the  case  was  this :  General 
White,  having  been  ordered  by  Jackson  to  join  him,  undertook  to  put  his  force  in  motion  from 
Turkeytown,  for  that  purpose;  but  discovered  that  the  men  would  not  obey  such  orders,  but 
would  return  to  General  Cocke,  instead,  for  the  reason,  alleged  by  them,  that  they  and  their 
horses  would  incur  an  imminent  risk  of  starvation  in  the  advance.  Tliis  was  not  an  unreason- 
able fear ;  it  is  well  known  that  General  Jackson's  forces  at  that  very  time  were  almost  entirely 
disorganized  from  lack  of  provisions.  Under  these  circumstances  General  Cocke  decided  to 
recall  General  Wliite.  He  was  influenced  hereto,  also,  Ijy  the  consideration  that  after  tliis  junc- 
tion, the  superior  morale  of  the  troops  ijnder  his  own  command  would  enable  him  to  compel 
WhUe's  men  to  march  anywhither  ;  and  by  the  fact  that  the  delay  would  enaljle  him  to  pro- 
cu-°  supplies.  Instead  of  being  sent  to  Jackson,  therefore.  General  TOiite  was  detached  in 
auotht.-  direction,  against  the  Hillabee  Towns,  where  he  did  good  service.  Such  beinf  the  case, 
the  blame,  if  any,  must  rest  with  the  rank  and  file  and  subordinate  oflScers  jf  General  Wliite'a 
detachment,  for  refusing  to  encounter  what  they  supposed  would  be  serious  danger  of  starva- 
tion; ajr.d  not  with  their  commander,  who  could  not  compel  the  services  of  unwilling  militia. 


26  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

morning  of  tlie  14th  November,  witli  both  verbal  and  written 
despatches,  and  reached  General  Jackson's  encampment  on  the  18th, 
at  12  o'clock.  After  consultation  with  General  Jackson  as  to  the 
best  means  of  relieving  him  from  his  embarrassed  situation,  he 
returned  to  Fort  Armstrong  with  important  despatches  from  General 
Jackson  to  General  Cocke,  and  remained  until  General  White's 
detachment  returned  from  the  Creek  Nation,  and  a  junction  was 
formed  on  the  8th  December,  between  the  two  divisions  at  Fort 
Strother.  It  was  then  determined  that  he  should  return  through  the 
wilderness  to  Tennessee,  and  exert  his  influence  in  raising  volunteers, 
and  procuring  provisions  for  the  distressed  and  famishing  army. 

He  appealed  directly  to  the  patriotism  of  his  brother-in-law,  Colonel 
John  Williams,  commander  of  the  39th  regiment,  who,  having  raised  a 
force  of  600  men,  had  enlisted  in  the  regular  army,  and  was  making 
preparations  for  an  expedition  to  New  Orleans.  He  told  Colonel 
Williams  that  he  had  been  commissioned  by  General'  Jackson,  to 
represent  to  him  "  his  condition  as  very  deplorable,  that  his  men  had 
all  abandoned  him  except  his  life-guard,  and  unless  he  came  to  his 
aid,  the  country  would  be  overrun  by  savages,  the  inhabitants  become 
victims  of  every  species  of  cruelty,  and  the  reputation  of  their  State 
forever  blasted." 

But  Judge  White's  exertions  did  not  end  here.  He  remained  with 
Colonel  Williams  nearly  all  night,  using  every  means  in  his  power  to 
impress  upon  his  mind  the  necessity  of  relieving  Jackson's  force. 
His  importunities  finally  prevailed.*  Colonel  Williams  acquiesced  m 
his  wishes ;  wrote  to  the  War  Department,  stating  his  intention  to 
proceed  to  General  Jackson's  head-quarters,  instead  of  to  the  South 
according  to  his  previous  instructions ;  and  upon  learning  that  his 
plans  were  approved  by  the  government,  at  once  marched  for 
the  former  destination,  and  arrived  with  his  troops,  February  6th, 
1814. 

On  the  14th,  they  marched  in  quest  of  the  enemy,  and  reached 
the  village  of  Tohopeka  on  the  2 1th,  where  they  found  a  strong  force 
of  Indians,  a  thousand  or  twelve  hundred  in  number,  awaiting  their 
approach ;  upon  which  there  ensued  the  most  desperate  engagement 
of  the  whole  war,  the  bloody  Battle  of  the  Horse-Shoe.f 

The  intrepidity   and   firmness  of   the   39  th   regiment,   the  skill 

*  Colonel  Williams  said  that  Judge  White's  arguments  and  persuasions  used  to  him  at  this 
time,  were  altogether  superior  to  anything  he  ever  heard  from  him  at  the  Bar. 

t  General  Jaclfson,  in  expressing  his  gratitude  to  Col.  W.,  after  the  engagement,  remarked, 
"  Sir,  you  have  placed  me  on  the  road  to  high  mHitary  fame." 


AID    TO    JACKSON.  27 

of  tlieir  commander,  Colonel  Williams,  the  aid  of  the  friendly  Indians 
under  Colonel  Gideon  Morgan,  and  of  Captain  Russell's  company 
of  spies,  decided  the  hard-fought  battle ;  which  gave  a  death-blow  to 
the  hopes  of  the  enemy,  and  brought  the  war  to  a  successful  termi- 
nation. 

While  absent  on  this  expedition,  Judge  White  missed  several  terms 
of  his  court.  By  the  laws  of  Tennessee  the  Judges  were  paid  only 
in  proportion  to  duty  performed.  The  legislature,  however,  in  con- 
sideration of  the  services  he  had  rendered  to  General  Jackson, 
passed  a  resolution  that  there  should  be  no  deduction  from  his 
salary.  But  he  declined  the  gift ;  refusing  to  receive  more  than  that 
for  which  he  had  rendered  actual  service.  He  said  that  "  his  country 
was  in  distress ;  that  the  aid  he  had  rendered  was  without  the  hope 
of  reward,  and  that  he  would  receive  none." 


CHAPTER  VI. 


A   FINANCIER. 


Before  resigning  his  seat  on  the  Supreme  Bench  in  1815,  Judge 
White  was  elected  President  of  the  Bank  of  Tennessee.  Fortunately 
for  him,  his  early  habits  of  labor  and  activity  had  so  strengthened  his 
constitution,  which  was  naturally  delicate,  as  to  enable  him  to  enduie 
an  immense  amount  of  bodily  and  mental'fatigue.  In  order  fully  to 
discharge  his  numerous  and  important  duties,  he  was  at  this  time 
accustomed  to  rise  early,  take  breakfast  by  candle-light,  and  be  iu 
town  at  his  post,  by  dawn  of  day,  usually  riding  to  and  from  his 
duties.  He  was  fond  of  horseback  exercise,  and  always  rode  fine 
horses,  and  with  great  ease  and  grace.  His  command  over  them  was 
extraordinary.  One  morning  while  acting  as  supreme  judge,  he  was 
riding  into  town  from  the  eastern  entrance  (all  who  are  acquainted 
with  the  location  of  Knoxville,  know  something  of  the  hilly  ascent). 
Near  what  was  then  denominated  the  "  Spout  Spring,"  he  came  across 
a  man  driving  a  wagon,  very  heavily  loaded.  It  was  during  the 
winter  season  ;  the  roads  heavy,  the  hill  very  steep,  and  the  driver 
not  very  well  skilled  in  the  management  of  his  horses,  which  seemed 
much  more  inclined  to  descend  than  to  ascend  the  elevation.  Many 
persons  were  collected  on  either  side  of  the  street,  whose  object  seemed 
to  be  rather  to  observe,  than  to  render  aid.  Judge  White  sat  for  some 
minutes  on  his  horse,  closely  scanning  the  operations.  lie  finally  dis- 
mounted, and  ofiering  his  assistance,  took  the  lines,  mounted  the 
saddle-horse,  and  by  his  skill  as  a  driver,  quickly  carried  the  load  and 
horses  to  the  top  of  the  slippery  hill. 

His  high  qualifications  as  a  financier  were  fully  established  by  the 
success  of  the  bank;  "such  was  the  wisdom  of  his  management,  that 
its  paper  was  always  equal  to  specie,  as  it  was  '  lifted '  with  silver  and 
gold  when  presented  for  payment;  indeed,  it  was  the  only  instance 
for  several  years  of  a  bank  paying  specie  in  the  Western  country. 

28 


PRESIDENCY  OF  BANK  OF  TENNESSEE.  29 

The  stock  of  this  bank  never  depreciated,  but  was  always  equ.il  to  any 
bank  stock  in  the  Union." 

In  July,  1827,  Judge  White  resigned  the  office  of  President  as  well 
as  Director  of  the  bknk ;  his  reasons  for  this  course  are  given  in  a 
letter  to  the  directors  of  the  bank,  June  30th,  1827.  We  need  not 
insert  them  here.  It  is,  however,  proper  to  substitute  the  following 
statement  of  the  Directors  in  reference  to  this  transaction,  which  is 
found  in  the  Register  of  July  18th,  1827  : 

"  The  Bank  of  Tennessee  commenced  its  operations  on  the  30th  day  of 
November,  1812.  Hugh  L.  White  has  been  the  President  thereof  ever 
since.  lie  has  repeatedly  and  earnestly  desired,  that  he  might  not  be 
elected  either  a  Director  or  the  President,  but  the  stockholders  have 
uniformly  been  desirous  to  retain  him  and  avail  themselves  of  hia 
services.  From  the  30th  day  of  Nov.,  1812,  to  the  10th  day  of  January, 
1815,  he  received  no  salary  or  compensation  whatever  for  his  services. 
On  the  9th  day  of  January,  1815,  the  stockholders  allowed  him  an 
annual  salary  of  one  thousand  dollars,  which  continued  till  the  1st  of 
January,  1820,  at  which  time  it  was  increased  to  fifteen  hundred  dollars 
per  annum. 

"On  the'  31st  of  March,  1821,  he  was  appointed  a  Commissioner  under 
the  Florida  Treaty  with  Spain,  which  appointment  he  continued  to  hold 
until  the  9th  day  of  June,  1824,  a  little  upwards  of  three  years.  AV^hen 
the  Commission  was  not  in  session,  his  attention  was' devoted  to  the 
business  of  the  bank ;  and  although  this  was  the  case,  he  uniformly 
refused  to  receive  any  salary  for  his  services,  and  never  has  received  one 
cent  for  any  services  he  rendered  the  bank  between  the  31st  of  March, 
1821,  and  the  1st  day  of  July,  1824.  About  the' last  of  October,  1825,  he 
was  elected  Senator  of  the  U.  S. ;  and  since  his  election,  he  has  uniformly 
given  his  attention  to  the  business  of  the  bank  when  he  was  not  neces- 
sarily absent,  and  during  the  whole  of  this  time,  that  is  from  the  31st 
pec,  1825,  to  this  dat6,  has  received  from  the  bank  for  his  services,  only 
the  sum  of  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  dollars,  equal,  barely,  to  one 
quarter's  salary.  From  the  first  organization  of  the  bank  to  this  time,  it 
has  uniformly  relied  upon  him,  for  all  the  legal  advice  the  Directors 
needed,  which  hp  has  uniformly  given,  for  which  he  has  never  demanded 
or  received  one  cent  in  compensation.  Any  suits  to  which  the  bank  was 
a  party,  when  the  business  could  be  done  at  Knoxville,  he  has  attended 
to  as  a  lawyer,  for  which  he  has  never  asked  or  received  one  cent. 

"He  is  not  a  borrower  of  money  from  the  bank  to  the  amount  of  one 
dollar,  and  is  an  endorser  on  one  note  only,  and'  that  for  barely  three 
hundred  dollars. 

"The  bank  has  uniformly  had  the  use  of  his  private  funds  for  nothing. 
He  has,  in  many  instances,  taken  journeys  upon  the  business  of  the  bank, 


Andrew  McMillan,  1  ^^^^  ^^^^^^^ 
H.  A.  M.  White,       ) 


30  MEMOIR  OF   HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE. 

when  a  confidential  person  was  necessary,  and  in  no  instance  haa  ho 
received  any  compensation  whatever  for  any  such  services. 

"  Given  under  our  hands  at  Knoxville,  the  27th  day  of  June,  1827 : 

Luke  Lea,  Cashier.  John  Crozier, 

William  Park,  Ex-Cashier.  John  Hillsman, 

James  Park, 

David  Campbell,      \Direcior8. 

Calvin  Morgan, 

RoBT.  King, 

James  Dardis, 
Joseph  C.  Strong,  Former  Director." 

This  home  testimony,  from  neighbours  and  men  of  standing,  well 
acquaijited  with  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  and  from  different  political 
parties,  is  entirely  reliable  j  and  its  statements  strikingly  illustrate  the 
lofty  purity  of  Judge  White,  and  his  unselfish  devotion  to  the  interests 
of  his  fellow-citizens.  We  have  here  the  case  of  a  man  who  performed 
the  onerous  and  responsible  duties  of  a  leading  Bank  officer  three 
years  for  nothing;  three  years  more  for  nothing  also,  but  this  time 
while  the  salary  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars  only  awaited  acceptance ; 
for  a  year  and  a  half  more,  for  three  months'  salary ;  who  declined  to 
receive  such  sums,  not  on  the  ground  that  he  had  not  done  the  work, 
but  for  the  unprecedented  reason  that  he  had  been  in  the  receipt  of 
contemporary,  income  for  public  seryices  rendered  during  the  same 
period ;  who,  under  these  circumstances,  having  also  transacted  the 
law  business  of  the  bank  without  fee  or  reward,  obtained  accommoda- 
tion from  it  not  even  to  the  extent  of  a  single  cent,  raised  no  money 
by  its  help,  nor,  except  as  endorser  upon  one  single  small  note,  aided 
others  to  do  so.  Such  indifference  to  pecuniary  gains  usually  esteemed 
perfectly  legitimate,  and  at  the  same  time  such,  active  and  untiring 
efficiency  in  the  discharge  of  these  unpaid  duties,  is  very  rare  in  this 
or  any  country.  Whether  such  conduct  be  considered  a  lofty 
exertion  of  virtue,  or,  as  by  Judge  White  himself,  the  mere  perform- 
ance of  ordinary  duty,  it  is  not  here  assumed  to  decide.  But  in 
either  event,  its  rarity  at  least  is  the  same :  and  that  alone  entitles  it 
to  a  careful  record. 

To  show  that  Judge  White's  character  in  this  respect  was  appre- 
ciated abroad  as  well  as  at  home,  are  given  a  few  words  from  the 
United  States  Telegraph,  published  about  the  time  of  his  resignation 
of  the  Presidency  of  the  Bunk; 


ANECDOTES   OF  JUDGE   WHITE.  31 

"Few  men  in  any  age  have  possessed  more  of  that  incorruptible 
integrity  which  places  public  men  above  private  scandal.  We  venture  to 
assert  that  no  other  man  who  has  been  so  long  associated  with  any 
monied  institution  in  the  country,  can  deserve  as  much  as  the  officers  of 
this  bank  have  said  of  Judge  White.  We  take  pleasure  in  recording  this 
evidence  of  his  Roman  virtues." 

One  or  two  anecdotes,  kindly  furnished  by  Dr.  Ramsey,  the  well- 
known  historian  of  Tennessee,  will  further  illustrate  the  home  reputa- 
tion and  influence  of  Judge  White,  as  a  safe  and  reliable  financier. 

"When  in  1836  the  books  for  the  subscription  of  stock  in  our  great  rail- 
road enterprise  were  first  opened  in  Knoxville,  we  who  were  appointed 
commissioners  for  that  purpose,  experienced  great  difficulty  in  obtaining 
subscriptions.  We  found  few  willing  to  adventure  anything ;  some 
objecting  to  the  whole  scheme  as  wild,  visionary,  and  impracticable. 
On  the  evening  of  the  last  day  of  subscription  Judge  White  was  sent  for. 
We  exhibited  to  him  our  meagre  list  of  subscribers,  and  the  inadequate 
amount  of  stock.  He  made  a  few  sensible  remarks  on  the  subject,  and 
added  that  elsewhere,  when  citizens  had  not  the  money  on  hand  unem- 
ployed, they  used  their  credit.  He  proposed  the  formation  of  an  associa- 
tion of  twenty,  of  which  he  would  himself  be  one,  to  subscribe  to  the 
enterprise.  The  association  was  at  once  formed,  nineteen  of  us  joined 
him,  with  him  subscribing  $200,000,  and  thus  securing  the  charter  at 
the  very  end  of  the  time  to  which  the  commissioners  were  limited  by 
law.     His  example  and  influence  thus  saved  the  charter." 

When  the  Bank  of  the  State  of  Tennessee  was  chartered  (I  believe  in 
1813)  some  one  was  needed  to  go  to  the  East  to  have  the  necessary 
engravings — plates  &c.,  prepared  to  put  the  bank  in  operation.  The 
task  was  then  herculean — there  were  no  stages — much  less  steamboats 
and  railroad  cars.  The  long  journey  was  to  be  performed  on  horseback. 
Yoanger  men  shrunk  from  the  undertaking.  His  professional  duties  at 
home  scarcely  allowed  him  to  leave  the  State.  But  mounting  his  horse 
he  rode  to  the  Eastern  cities — had  the  engravings  made — the  bills  struck 
— looked  into  the  forms  of  financiering  which  were  then  all  unknown  in 
the  West — and  with  the  whole  machinery  of  the  first  Bank  of  Tennessee 
about  his  person  and  in  his  portmanteau,  he  returned  to  Knoxville  in  so 
short  a  space  of  time,  that  the  expedition  was  considered  quite  a  remark- 
able adventure. 

I  may  as  well  here  add  one  word  of  his  financial  ability.  At  that 
time  gold  and  silver  were  the  only  circulating  money  in  the  State,  banking 
in  the  West  was  in  its  infancy ;  and  to  put  a  State  institution  into  suc- 
cessful operation  among  a  people  strangers  to  a  paper  currency  and 
prejudiced  against  the  credit  system,  required  fiscal  talents  of  the  first 


32  MEMOIR   OF   HUGH   LAWSON   WHITE. 

order.  But  his  strong  common  sense,  his  far-seeing  discernment  and 
his  unquestioned  probity  succeeded  in  ovei-coming  the  seemingly  insur- 
mountable difficulties  which  he  encountered.  The  parent  bank  he  man- 
aged in  person  at  Knoxville,  established  several  branches  elsewhere,  and 
a  sounder  currency  no  State  was  blessed  with  while  he  managed  its 
finances. 

The  following  is  an  instance  of  the  careful  punctuality  with  which 
Judge  White  superintended  even  minute  details  of  Bank  manage- 
ment. 

Believing  that  "example  is  better  than  precept."  and  being  a  man 
of  few  words,  Judge  White  generally  acted  instead  of  talking.  While 
he  was  president  of  the  Bank  of  Tennessee,  he  accompanied  his 
daughters  to  a  ball,  given  in  Knoxville.  Luke  Lea,  who  was  cashier 
at  the  time,  and  a  single  gentleman,  was  also  present.  When  the 
hour  for  dispersing  came,  the  Judge  went  to  Mr.  Lea  (whom  he  found 
at  the  card  table,  with  a  number-  of  other  gentlemen,  engaged  in  a 
game  of  whist),  and  said,  "  If  you  are  not  going  to  leave  this  place, 
give  me  the  key  of  the  bank,  and  I  will  act  as  guard  myself."  Mr.  Lea 
answered  that  he  would  go  immediately  to  his  post,  and  remain  there. 
The  Judge,  after  seeing  his  daughters  home  (two  miles  in  the  country), 
fearing  Mr.  Lea  might  become  so  absorbed  as  to  neglect  or  become 
forgetful  of  his  duty,  mounted  his  horse,  and  returned  to  town.  He 
went  first  to  the  bank,  but  finding  no  one  there,  he  repaired  to  the 
ball-room,  and  there  found  Mr.  Lea  still  at  the  card  table.  Without 
saying  one  word,  he  stepped  forward  and  demanded  the  key.  Against 
this  Mr.  Lea  remonstrated,  but  the  Judge  was  inexorable.  He  could 
not  be  induced  to  abandon  his  intention  of  remaining  all  night, 
which  he  actually  did. 

Mr.  Lea,  who  became  distinguished  for  business  habits,  and  for 
great  uprightness  and  integrity  of  character,  says  this  was  the  most 
effectual  rebuke  he  ever  had.     It  was  a  lesson  he  never  forgot. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

SERVICES   UNDER   THE    GENERAL    GOVERNMENT,    AS    COMMISSIONER 
UNDER   THE    TREATY   WITH    SPAIN. 

WjiEN  Florida  was  ceded  to  the  United  States  in  1819,  the  latter 
agreed  to  exonerate  the  Spanish  Government  from  all  future  claims 
on  account  of  depredations  committed  during  the  war  of  1812  by 
Spanish  subjects  upon  property  of  her  citizens;  and  likewise  that 
those  citizens  should  be  indemnified  to  the  amount  of  the  purchase 
money  ($5,000,000)  for  all  loss  or  injury  originating  from  the  doiiigs 
of  foreign  cruisers,  agents,  consuls,  or  tribunals,  in  the  Spanish  terri- 
tory, which  might  be  imputable  to  the  Spanish  government.  i;t  was 
to  ascertain  the  amount  of  valid  claims  under  this  treaty,  that  Judge 
White,  Hon.  Littleton  W.  Tazewell  of  Virginia,  and  Governor  Kin^  of 
Maine,  were  appointed  Commissioners  by  President  Monroe,  in  1821. 

In  1820,  from  too  close  application  to  business.  Judge  White's 
health  had  begun  to  decline  ;  and  it  was  feared  that  he  must  inevi- 
tably become  a  victim  of  the  dreadful  disease  which  afterwards  proved 
such  a  terrible  scourge  in  his  family.     He  therefore  changed  in  some 
measure  his  habits  of  living,  partly  gave   up  business  and  retired  to 
his  farm,  where  by  his,,  remarkable  energy  of  will,  in  planning  and 
pursuing  a  course  of  judicious  exercise,  he  succeeded  in  regaining  suffi- 
cient strength  for  undertaking  the  laborious  task  assigned  him  by  this 
commission.     During  this  temporary  relief  from  the  pressure  of  his 
many  cares,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  walking  or  riding  over  his  farm, 
once  every  day.     During  one  of  these  excursions,  an  incident  occurred, 
trivial  in  itself,  but  not  without  results  of  some  personal  importance  to 
him.  One  morning,  while  visiting  his  plantation  two  miles  distant  from 
his  residence,  he  had  occasion  to  walk  a  log  which  lay  across  a  creek. 
The  weather  was  very  cold,  and  the  log  covered  with  ice.     His  foot 
slipped  and  he  was  plunged  into  the  stream,  which  was  of  sufficient 
depth  completely  to  immerse  him.     His  clothes  immediately  became 
frozen,  and  in  this  condition  he  rode  home,  changed  his  dress,  and 

3  33 


34  MEilOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

went  to  bed  without  delay.  All  were  apprehensive,  that,  in  his 
delicate  state  of  health,  this  accident  would  prove  fatal.  But  the 
excitement  threw  him  into  a  profuse  perspiration,  and  having  slept, 
he  arose  as  well  as  usual.  He  was  ever  of  opinion  that  this  circum- 
stance cured  him,  for  from  that  time  forward  his  health  began  to 
improve. 

Although  Judge  Wliite  held  many  important  trusts  in  his  own 
State,  and  was  known  there  as  a  profound  jurist  and  able  statesman, 
yet  he  had  never  held  office  under  the  general  government  until  he 
received  this  appointment  under  the  treaty  with  Spain.  Some  idea 
may  be  had  of  the  arduous  duties  of  the  position  he  had  now  assumed, 
when  it  is  recollected  that  the  commission  only  lasted  for  the  shoi't 
space  of  three  y6ars,  and  that  the  whdle  immense  amount  of  claims 
had  to  be  received,  examined,  and  decided  upon,  according  to  the 
principles  of  justice,  the  laws  of  nations  and  the  stipulations  of  the 
treaty  between  the  high  contracting  parties.*  The  Intelligencer 
says :  "  The  praise  of  ability,  assiduity,  and  devotion  to  business  will 
be  conceded  to  this  board ;  and  it  is  admitted  that  the  President 
could  not  have  made  a  more  judicious  choice  of  persons  to  execute 
this  arduous  trust." 

In  reference  to  the  manner  in  which  that  trust  was  executed,  Mr. 
Tazewell  thus  expresses  himself  in  a  letter  to  the  writer,  dated  Nov. 
loth,  1853: 

"  The  duties  of  this  commission  proved  to  be  veiy  burdensome ;  much 
more  so  than  either  of  us  had  anticipated.  Many  reasons  combined  to 
induce  us  to  endeavor  to  complete  it  within  the  three  years  prescribed 
by  the  statute  as  the  term  for  the  continuance  of  the  commission.  To 
enable  us  to  accomplish  this  work  with  more  facility  to  ourselves,  we  took 
lodgings  in  the  same  boarding-house,  to  the  end  that  our  conferences 
might  be  more  conveniently  held ;  and  labored  at  our  task  indefatigably 
until  it  was  finished.  It  would  not  become  me  to  say  how  the  duties  of 
the  commission  were  discharged.  But  it  is  due  to  Judge  White  to  state 
that  whatever  of  good  may  have  been  done  by  i-t,  ought  to  be' ascribed 
mainly  to  his  patience,  industry  and  excellent  judgment." 

During  these  three  years.  Judge  W.  lived  pn  terms  of  great  inti- 
macy with  Mr.  Tazewell,  and  contracted  a  strong  friendship  for  that 
thorough  lawyer  and  profound  thinker.     This  friendship  was  warmly 

*  The  Hon.  Daniel  Webster  U  said  to  haye  reoeired  $75,000  for  prosecuting  claims  before 
this  Board.  « 


SECOND    COMMISSIONERSHIP.  35 

reciprocated.  Says  Mr.  Tazewell :  "  When  we  parted  in  "Waslilngton 
after  the  close  of  the  Florida  commission,  in  1824,  it  was  in  the  pain- 
ful belief  that  we  should  not  probably  ever  meet  again.  In  this, 
liowever,  we  were  mistaken.  The  death  of  one  of  the  Senators  of 
Virginia  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  produced  a  vacancy  in 
that  office.  To  fill  that  vacancy  I  was  elected  by  the  legislature  of 
this  State  ;  and  I  returned  to  my  old  lodgings  in  Washington,  in  the 
latter  end  of  1824,  to  enter  upon  the  duties  of  this  new  station." 

"  Judge  W.  was  not  a  member  of  the  Senate  when  I  first  entered 
tliat  body.  But  the  next  year,  1825,  Gen.  Jackson,  then  one  of  the 
Senators  of  the  State  of  Tennessee,  resigned  his  seat,  and  Judge  W. 
was  elected  as  his  successor,  and  his  votes  while  in  that  body  prove 
that  he  wag  a  Republican  of  the  '  most  straitest  sect.'  And  this  evi- 
dence was  amply  confirmed,  by  every  sentiment  I  ever  heard  ■  him 
utter,  whether  in  private  or  public."  At  the  close  of  the  session  of 
1831-32  they  parted — Mr.  Tazewell  having  resigned  his  seat  in  the 
Senate ;  and  although  Judge  White  continued  in  that  body  eight 
years  afterwards,  they  never  met  again.  It  was  during  one  of  the 
recesses  of  Congress  that  the  hand  of  affiietion  was  laid  heavily  upon 
them  both.  Each  lost  a  grown-up  son  ;  and  their  meeting  at  the 
commencement  of  the  next  session  is  described  by  one  who  witnessed 
it  as  very  affecting,  neither  being  capable  of  utterance,  but  both  giving 
vent  to  their  feelings  in  fioods  of  tears. 

If  any  further  evidence  is  needed  of  the  high  estimation  in  which 
the  legal  ability  and  statesmanship  of  Judge  W.  were  held,  it  appears 
in  the  selection'  of  himself  and  Judge  Burnett  of  Ohio,  on  the  19th 
Nov.,  1822,  by  th.e  Government  of  Kentucky,  as  Commissioners  to 
adjust  the  military  land  claims  of  Virginia.  The  Commissioners 
appointed  on  the  part  of  Virginia,  were  Benj.  W.  Leigh  and  Wm. 
Gaston  of  North  Carolina.  His  association  with  silch  men  in  tlio 
dischf\rge  of  such  highly  responsible  duties,  -is  a  sufficient  proof  of 
his  great  reputation  for  solid  and  reliable  sagacity  and  integrity,  as 
well  as  of  professional  acquirements. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

SENATORIAL   CAREER PANAMA    MISSION FEDERAL   JUDICIARY. 

Thus  far,  Judge  White  has  been  presented  to  the  reader  chiefly  as 
a  local  jurist  and  politician.  He  will  now  appear  as  an  actor  in  more 
important  and  interesting  scenes;  in  which  his  life  and  acts  are  inter- 
woven with  national  interests,  and  become  portions  of  national  history. 
Nor  can  his  character  be  adequately  estimated  without  a  full  view  of 
the  manner  in  which  he  discharged  the  duties  of  his  elevated  station 
in  the  National  Legislature. 

When  General  Jackson  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States,  in  1825,  Judge  White,  being  then  fifty-two  years  of 
age,  was  elected  for  the  remainder  of  his  term,  and  continued  to  fill 
the  place  until  1840,  being  thrice  elected  not  only  by  a  unanimous 
vote,  but  without  having  solicited  the  office.  Even  at  his  entrance 
upon  the  duties  of  his  position  he  brought  much  weight  of  character 
into  our  national  councils,  acquired  by  the  punctual  and  faithful  dis- 
charge of  all  the  responsibilities  M'hich  had  before  that  time  been 
imposed  upon  him,  by  unyielding  integrity,  and  by  his  well-known 
sound  and  safe  habits  of  investigation,  decision  and  action. 

The  fifteen  years  of  Judge  White's  senatorship  belong  to  a  period 
of  more  stormy  and  thrilling  interest  than  any  in  American  political 
history,  ^ince  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution ;  a  period  of  party 
reorganization,  and  reform  and  re-direction  of  public  policy,  effected 
and  opposed,  amidst  the  most  reckless  and  impassioned  political  war- 
fare. Dui-ing  all  the  mighty  cohflicts  of  principles  and  opinions, 
interests,  parties  and  men,  which  made  the  Senate  during  Jackson's 
administration  a  chosen  arena  for  the  combats  of  intellectual  giants ; 
during  the  memorable  conflicts  upon  the  Mission  to  Panama,  Internal 
Improvements;  during  the  great  struggle  to  establish  Mr.  Clay's 
"  American  System,"  the  critical  battle  with  Nullification,  the  desperate 
contest  with  the  United  States  Bank,  and  also  dirring  all  the  collateral 
and  contemporary  minor  debates  that  crowded  every  session,  Judge 
36 


SENATE — PANAMA   MISSION.  37 

White  was  often  upon  the  floor,  and  in  every  struggle  sustained  liis 
part  fearlessly,  honorably  and  well.  He  was  a  disciple  of  the  old 
Republican  school ;  of  the  school  of  Jefferson  and  of  Jackson,  and  in 
accordance  with  the  views  of  the  statesmen  of  that  school  he  discussed 
all  the  questions  of  the  day ;  and  whatever  external  differences 
he  may  have  had  with  others  of  his  own  political  belief,  to  the 
declared  principles  of  that  belief  he  adhered  firmly  and  consistently  tQ 
the  last. 

In  1826,  during  the  administration  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  was 
introduced  the  question,  now  almost  forgotten,  of  the  Panama  Mission. 
This  was  debated  in  Congress,  upon  motions  to  send  accredited  Min- 
isters from  the  Government  of  the  United  States  to  a  proposed  Con- 
vention of  the  Republics  of  North  and  South  America,  to  be  holden 
upon  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  This  Convention,  was  to  discuss  and 
determine,  if  possible,  commercial  and  international  principles  and 
courses  of  action  in  a  fr^ee  and  liberal  manner,  such  as  was  befitting 
the  joint  action  of  free  nations.  Its  objects  were  noble,  and  such  as 
temporarily  to  enlist  an  overwhelming  popular  feeling  in  favor  of  the 
mission.  The  purposes  for  which  it  Avas  claimed  that  the  United. 
States  should  participate  in  the  Congress  were  represented  to  be 

1.  To  establish  liberal  international  commercial  regulations. 

2.  To  determine  and  agree  upon  a  doctrine  of  maritime  neutrality. 

3.  To  establish  the  doctrine  that  "  free  ships  make  free  goods." 

4."  To  establish  the  "  Monroe  doctrine,"  so  called ;  of  preventing 
European  interference  with  American  national  action. 

5.  To  advance  religious  liberty. 

6.  To  conciliate  the  good  will  of  our  American  co-nations,  by 
accepting  their  invitation  and  aiding  in  their  deliberations. 

This  was  an  administration  measure,  and  was  opposed  by  the  great 
mass  of  the  opposition,  then  already  organized  as  the  Democratic 
party.  Judge  White,  as  an  opposition  speaker,  delivered  against  it 
on  the  26th  of  March,  1826,  a  speech  which  discussed  the  general 
principles  brought  up  in  the  course  of  the  debate  (which  was  secret, 
although  afterwards  allowed  to  be  published) ;  and  which  was  pro- 
nounced "  the  ablest  exposition  of  the  powers  of  government  made 
during  the  whole  discussion." 

After  showing  that  the  question  was  whether  the  Senate  should 
advise  this  mission,  and  also  that  the  not  advising  it  ought  not  to 
give  offence  to  the  nations  inviting  it.  Judge  White  said,  speaking 


38  .MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

upon  the  report  of  the  committee  of  the  Senate,  adversely  to  the 
Mission : 

Mr.  President:  "Were  I  to  he  advised  by  my  feelings  I  should  remain 
silent,  but  when  I  reflect  upon  the  relation  in  which  I  stand  to  the  report 
now  under  consideration,  a  sense  of  duty  compels  me  to  submit  to  the 
Senate  some  of  the  vjews  which  my  ipind  has  taken  of  this  subject. 

The  only  question  L-,  the  ex2^ediency  of  the  Mission  to  Panama.  The 
President  has  distinctly  asked  of  us  an  opinion  upon  this  question. 

Our  advice  is  to  be  given  as  freemen,  not  as  slaves.  In  this  course  we 
serve  the  Executive,  anaintain  the  dignity  and  independeiice  of  the  Senate, 
and  promote  the  best  interests  of  the  United  States.  If  the  mission  should 
not  be  advised,  we  give  no  cause  of  offence  to  tlie  Spanish  American  States. 
The  evidences  heretofore  given  of  our  friendship  for  them,  in  acknow- 
ledging their  independence,  and  interposing  our  good  offices  to  effect  it, 
ought  to  shield  us  against  any  suspicion  of  unfriendly  feelings  towards 
them,  at  present.  The  President  will  likewise  comply  with  the  only 
promise  made  to  those  who  have  tendered  tlie  invitation,  his  acceptance 
of  it  having  been  conditional "  if  the  Senate  advise,"  &c. 

The  subject  isthen  fairly  before  us,  for  the  exercise  of  our  best  judg- 
ment, without  a  fear  that  any  promise  of  the  Execi;tlve  will  be  violated, 
should  the  Senate  disagree  with  him  in  opinion :  but  even  if  this  were  not 
so,  Ave  ceuld  not  without  a  shameful  dereliction  of  duty,  offer  anything, 
as  our  advice,  but  the  result  of  our  best  judgment. 

The  first  reflection  upon  this  subject,  is  produced  by  its  novelty.  Since 
the  acknoAvledgment  of  our  independence,  it  has  no  precedent  in  our 
history.     This  ought  to  beget  caution  and  circumspection. 

If  this  mission  should  be  advised,  a  rte\v  era  "will  bave  commenced 
in  the  history  of  our  foreign  relations.  Peace  Avith,  and  good-Avill 
toAvards  all' nations,  entangling  ajliaiices  Avith  none;  has  been  our  car- 
dinal policy,  in  the  time  past.  It  was  recommended  by  the  Father  of 
our  Country — repeated,  and  practised  upon,  by  his  republican  successors. 
Vhen  given,  Ave  Avere  few  in  number,  comparatively  poor,  and  insignifi- 
cant, in  the  scale  of  nations  ;  noAv,  we  aretAvelve  millions ;  rich  in  men,  in 
means  and  in  character.  Our  prosperity  has  surpassed  the  most  extra- 
vagant calculations  of  the  most  sanguine  amongst  us. 

In  our  late  contest  Avith  the  most  poAverful  nation  in  the  civilized 

world,  unaided  by,  and  unallied  to,  any  other  nation,  we  furnished  con- 

.  elusive  evidence,  both  upon  the  ocean  and  upon  the  land,  that  we  are 

able  and  Avilling  to  defend  the  rich  inheritance  derived  from  our  ancestors. 

The  sincerity  of  oUr  conduct  in  our  iutercqurse  Avith  other  nations,  and 
a  careful  abstinence  from  all  interference  in  tlwir  concerns,  united  to  our 
determined  and  successful  resistance  to  laAvless  encroachments  upoji  our 


SPEECH   ON   PANAMA   MISSION.  39 

rights",  have  given  us  a  proud  name  throughout  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
Happy  at  home,  and  respected  abroad,  why  shoixld  we  change  the  policy 
by  which  these  blessings  have  been  obtained? 

We  ought  not  to  advise  it,  except  to  obtain  some  lasting  and  important 
benefit  for  the  United  States,  certadnhj  attainable  in  this  mode,  pro- 
bably to  be  attained  in  no  other ;  but  never  from  sympathy  for  others, 
from  a  desire  to  serve  them,  or  from  a  desire  of  gratifpng  national 
vanity. 

"W^  are  then  naturally  led  to  inquire  into  the  objects  expected  to  be 
obtained,  and  the  probability  of  accomplishing  them  in  this  tnode. 

Here  we  cannot  fail  to  perceive  how  difficult  it  appears  to  have  been, 
for  those  who  gave  the  invitations,  to  fix  upon  any  subject  for  discussion, 
which  they  believed  of  sufficient  importance  to  the  United  States,  to 
induce  them  to  accept  those  invitations ;  hence,  both  the  Minister  from 
Columbia,  and  from  Mexico,  introduce  the  idea  of  subjects  "which  the 
Congress  may  give  I'ise  to,"  &c. 

How  can  the  Senate  advise  the  President  to  send  Ministers  to  discuss 
unknown  subjects?  to  accomplish  objects  which  no  person. can  desig- 
nate? and  in  relation  to  which  it  is  impossible  to  say  whether  their 
attainment  would  comport  with  the  honor  and  interest  of  the  United 
States,  or  not?  Suppose  those  giving  these  invitations  had  specified 
no,  subject  whatever  for  discussion,  but  had  asked  the  attendance  of 
our  Ministers,  to  discuss,  and  come  to  an  agreement,  upon  such  subjects  as 
the  Congress  might  give  rise  to ;  is  there  any  one  member  of  the  Senate, 
that  would  advise  a  mission  upon  such  an  invitation  ?  Would  it  not  be 
thought  both  useless  and  hazardous  ? 

To  these  question^  it  would  seem  to  me  there  can  be  but  one  answer. 
Fond  would  he  be  of  the  creation  of  officers,  and  heedless  of  the  honor 
and  interest  of  his  country,  who  would  advise  the  appointment  of  Minis- 
ters to  a  foreign  country,  to  attend  a  Congress  for  the  purpose  of  seeing 
whether  a  subject  could  be  produced  that  might  be  proper  for  an  agree- 
ment with  the  United  States.  I  will  not  degrade  the  Senate  by  supposing 
there  is.  any  such  man  among  us,  and  will'proceed  with  this  investigation, 
as  if  no  allusion  had  been  made  to  any  unknown  subject,  which  could 
neither  be  designated^  nor  described. 

The  first  subject  mentioned  is,  the  resistance  or  opposition  to  be  made 
to  the  interference  of  any  neutral  nation  in  the  war  of  Independence,  &c. 
This  appears  to  be  a  point  of  primary  importance,  in  the  estimation  of 
all  concerned.  Let  us  calmly  and  dispassionately  reflect  Upon  it.  Six  of 
the  former  Spanish  American  Colonies  have  declared  themselves  indepen- 
dent of  Spain,  and  to  maintain  this  independence,  have  put  at  hazard 
their  lives  and  their  fortunes.  Spain  asserts  that  they  are  still  parts  of 
her  dominions,  that  she  has  the  right  to  govern  them,  and  that,  cost  what 
it  may,  she  will  reduce  them  to  subjection.     The  decision  of  this  issue  is 


40  MEMOIR    OF    jBUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

submitted  to  the  God  of  battles.  These  six  colonies  have  become  six 
States,  and  are  belligerent  on  one  side,  and  Spain  on  the  other.  Hereto- 
fore these  States  have  exerted  their  strength  separately  without  any  regu- 
lar alliance  with  each  other,  although  they  have  had  a  common  enemy  to 
contend  with.  The  belief,  that  it  would  conduce  to  their  common  inter- 
est, and  best  secure  that  independence  for  which  all  are  Contending,  has 
induced  five  of  them  to  enter  into  treaties,  by  which  they  are  bound  to 
make  common  cause  against  Spain,  and  by  their  united  efforts,  to  compel 
her  to  acknowledge  the  independence  of  each.  To^produce  union  in 
council,  and  concord  in  action  and  design  among  the  new  States,  they 
have  devised  the  Congress  at  Panama.  It  is  to  be  perpetual.  Its  primary 
and  leading  object  is  belligerent.  Its  secondary  and  inferior  objects  and 
duties  are  peaceful.  The  first  subject,  then,  which  will  claim  the  atten- 
tion of  this  Congress,  is  some  plan,  by  which  the  -independence  of  each 
State,  will  not  only  be  maintained,  but  secured. 

A  fear  has  been  entertained,  that  some  European  power,  now  neutral 
in  this  war,  will  be  induced  to  unite  with  Spain,  and  lend  her  assistance 
to  reduce  these  States  to  the  condition  of  colonies.  They  wish  to  pro- 
vide against  such  an  event,  and  in  giving  these  invitations,  they  state,  that 
they  have  a  pledge  from  the  President,  and  that  there  is  an  accord  between 
them  and  the  -Cabinet  at  Washington ;  that  if  any  neutral  power  does 
take  part  with  Spain,  the  United  States  will  take  part  with  them ;  and 
wish  the  attendance  of  our  Ministers  with  a  view  to  discuss  the  subject, 
and  come  to  an  agreement  in  relation  to  it,  by  which  it  wiU  be  stipulated, 
what  contingent  each  party  shall  furnish  when  the  casics  foederis  shall 
occur ;  and  they  say,  that  in  the  meantime  this  agreement  or  convention 
may  be  kept  secret.  • 

Mr.  President,  I  object  to  sending  ministers  for  the  purpose  of  discuss- 
ing and  coming  to  any  agreement  or  convention  upon  this  subject.  It  is 
not  true,  as  far  as  I  am  advised,  that  the  United  States  stemd  pledged  to 
take  part  in  this  war  in  any  event  whatever.  Nothing  can  bind  us  to 
go  to  war  with  any  nation,  but  a  declaration  made  in  the  proper  form, 
and  by  the  proper  department  of  this  Government.  The  Executive  can- 
not declare  war,  but  I  admit  he  may  pursue  a  course  of  policy  which 
will  justify  other  nations  in  making  war  upon  us.  Congress  has  taken  no 
step,  has  done  no  act,  has  passed  no  law,  by  which  we  are  bound  to 
unite  with  these  new  States  in  their  war  of  independence,  upon  any  con- 
tingency whatever.  The  Executive  had  no  power  to  bind  the  United 
States  by  any  jtledge  he  could  give.  But  what  has  he  done  ?  The  ground- 
work of  tliis  pretended  pledge,  it  seems,  is  found  in  President  Monroe's 
Message  of  December  1823.  It  contains  no  pledge — it  is  a  general  decla- 
rp,tion  to  his  own  Congress,  of  the  sentiment  which  would  be  felt  if  any 
neutral  should  interfere  on  the  side  of  Spain.  Notwithstanding  that  dec- 
laration, the  United  States  were  still  at  liberty,  consistently  with  their 


SPEECH    ON    PANAMA    AIISSION.  41 

honor,  to  take  part  with  the  new  States,  or  oinit  to  do  so,  as  the  wisdom 
of  Congress  might  judge  best,  when  any  neutral  power  did  take  part  with 
Spain.  This  declaration  luxd  a  good  effect;  Not  wishing  to  give  off'ence 
to  the  United  States,. it  may  have  prevented  some  of  the  European  States 
from  taking  part  with  Spain.  The  new  States  have  had  the  full  benefit 
of  this  declaration.  Thus  the  matter  appears  to  have  rested,  till  the  close 
of  Mr.  Monroe's  Administration.  Since  the  new  Administration  came  into 
power,  it  seems,  that  upon  the  appearance  of  a  French  fleet  in  our  seas, 
some  of  the  new  States  called  upon  the  Executive  to  redeem  the  pledge 
which  had  been  given.  Upon  this  appHcation,  in  place  of  correcting  the 
mistake  upon  the  subject,  it  would  appear  from  the  documents  with 
which  we  are  furnished,  the  Administration  admitted  that  which  I  do  not 
see  was  the  fact,  that  a  pledge  had  been  given,  and  directed  Mr.  Brown, 
our  Minister  in  France  to  ask  an  explanation,  &c.  Upon  this  point,  how- 
ever, I  think  we  are  still  in  the  dark  ;  we  have  no  copy  of  the  application 
from-  the  new  States,  nor  of  our  answer  to  them.  These  documents 
would  have  shown  how  far  our  new  Administration  have  gone  towards 
compelling  us  to  take  part  in  this  war.  It  is  very,  singular,  that  after  all 
the  calls  for  information  which  the  Senate  have  been  compelled  to  make, 
upon  this  important  business,  there  is  still  a  want  of  documents,  that 
would  probably  be  useful.  But  if  we  ai'e  at  liberty  to  judge  from  the 
correspondence  between  Mr.  Poinsett  -and  the  Mexican  Minister,  and 
from  Mr.  Secretary's  letter  to  Mr.  Poinsett,  it  does  really  seem  that  the 
Executive  has  admitted  to  Mexico,  that  we  have  given  a  pledge,  which 
we  may  be  called  on  to  redeem,  whenever  the  contingency  shall  occur.* 
Of  this  pledge,,  the  people  of  these  States  are  yet  uninformed.  I  feel  per- 
suaded they  have  no  idea  we  stand  pledged  upon  any  contingency  to 
embark  in  the  war  with  these  new  States,  whether  it  may  comport  with 
our  interest  or  not.  This  is  an  inadvertence  which  cannot  be  corrected 
too  soon.  If  we  send  Ministers  and  an  agreement  is  entered  into,  then 
indeed,  will  the  United  States  be  pledged,  "We  now  know  the  object. 
We  see  the  predicament  in  which  we  are  placed,  and  with  this  know- 
ledge, if  Congress  can  be  induced  to  give  its  sanction  to  this  measure, 
and  this  pledge  of  the  Executive  is  refined  into  an  agreement,  by  which 
the  United  States  shall  be  bound  to  furnish  men,  riwney,  ships,  &c.,  in  aid 
of  the  new  States,  whenever  any  power,  now  neutral,  may  choose  to  take 
part  with  Spain,  then,  indeed,  shall  I  think  this  nation  has  given  a  pledge, 

•  Mr.  Poinsett's  letter  to  Mr.  Clay,  2Sth  September,  1825: 

"  To  these  observations  I  replied,  that  against  the  power  of  Spain  they  had  given  sufficient 
proof  that  they  required  no  assistance,  and  the  United  States  had  pledged  themselves  not  to 
permit  any  other  power  to  interfere  with  their  independence  or  form  of  government ;  and  that 
as  in  the  event  of  such  an  attempt  being  made  by  the  powers  of  Europe,  we  would  be  com- 
pelled to  take  the  most  active  and  efficient  part  and  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  contest,  it  was 
not  just  that  we  should  be  placed  on  a  less  favorable  footing,  than  the  other  republics  of 
America,  whose  existence  we  were  ready  to  support  at  such  hazards." 


42  MEMOm    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

one  that  it  may  cost  us  too  much  to  redeero,  when  the  cams  fosderis  shall 
I'appen. 

But,  sir,  how  is  it  that  we  are  told  our  neutral  character  is  not  to  be 
C'  npromitted?  that  we  are  not  to  enter  into  any  alliance?  to  engage  in 
nothing  importing  hostility  to  any  otlier  nation?  Are  we  to  be  led 
away  from  the  substance  of  things  by  mere  names  ?  Are  we  to  have  so 
much  faitli  as  to  induce  us  to  disregard  the  plainest  evidence  that  can  be 
furnished?  I  hope  not.  What  is  the  substance  of  this  proposition? 
These  new  States  say,  the  President  has  given  a  pledge  to  take  a  part  in 
the  war  now  waged,  if  any  neutral  nation  shall  take  part  with  Spain ; 
and  that  the  Cabinet  at  Washington  has  done  the  like:  but,  as  this  is 
only  a  general  fledge^  and'  they  do  not  know  exactly  what  assistance 
they  are  to  receive,  they  wish  the  United  States  to  send  Ministers  to 
Panama,  empowered  to  discuss  this  subject,  and  come  to  a  definite 
agreement  upon  it,  by  which  it  may  be  distinctly  known  what  contingent 
the  United  States  are  to  furnish,  when  the  casus  foederis  happen^,  and 
that  all  this  matter  shall  be  kept  secret.  -* 

Suppose  we  do  send  Ministers,  for  such  a  purpose,  to  a  Congress  com- 
posed entirely  of  belligerents  on  one  side,  is  it  not  a  violation  of  our 
neutrality  ?  What  is  our  situation  ?  We  profess  friendship  for  both  the 
parties  to  this  war,  and  that  we  are  not  disposed  to  aid  either.  Is  it  no 
departure  from  the  professions  to  send  our  Ministers  ?  Can  any  gentle- 
man doubt  upon  this  point?  Recollect  that  this  Congress  is  created  and 
assembled  avowedly  for  the  purpose  of  discussing  war  measures,  settling 
plans,  and  devising  means,  by  which  Spain  shall  be  compelled  to 
acknowledge  their  independence,  and  by  which  that  independence  can 
be  best  secured. 

With  this  knowledge,  and  for  the  purpose  of  entering  upon  the 
discussion,  and  making  an  agreement,  by  which  we  will  be  bound,  upon 
a  oer-tain  contingency,  to  aid  the  party  with  whom  we  make  the  agree- 
ment we  send  our  Ministers.  Can  we  be  called  indifferent  ?  Counte- 
nancing neither,  to  the  prejudice  of  the  other?  Surely  not.  What  is 
the  answer  to  this  argument?  The  only  one  as  yet  attempted  is  by  the 
gentleman  from  Rhode  Island,  that  if  two  nations  arfe  at  war,  it  is  no 
breach  of  neutrahty  in  a  third  Power  to  send  a  Minister  to  both,  or 
either.  This  is  very  true,  and  yet  it  proves  nothing,  as  jt  relates  to  the 
question  now  in  dispute.  Por  peaceful  purposes — for  any  purpose 
unconnected  with  the' war — the  third  power  may  send  a  Minister,  may 
discuss,  may  treat  upon  any  peaceful  subject;  but,  does  this  prove 
that  you  may  send  a  Minister  to  the  Com-t  of  one  leUigerent  to 
discuss  belligerent  questions,  to-  advise  one  party  Avhat  steps  he  is 
to  take  in  the  war,  whether  it  is  most  prudent  to  strike  his  adver^ 
sary  at  a  given  time,  or  in  a  given  quarter?  Surely  not.  And  yet 
this  is  the  very  peint  which  gentlemen  on  tlie  other  side  must  mainr> 


SPEECH    ON    P.VNAM\    MISSION.  43 

tain  This  part  of  the  subject  has  heeu  placed  by  tlie  gentlemau 
from  South  Carolina  on  ground  which  cannot  be  shaken.  _  His  argument 
has  not  been  answered.  It  never  wiU  be,  while  there  is  a  distinction 
between  tnith  amVthe  reverse.  .  vr  •. 

Mr  President,  I  go  one  step  farther,  ahd  insist,  if  you  do  send  Mims- 
ters  and  tliey  discuss  this  siAject,  and  enter  into  the  proposedagreement, 
so  far'as  you  have  power  over  the  matter,  your  neutrahty  is  not  only 
broken  but  you  are  in  a  state  of  war,  and  that  w.tli  any  and  every 
power  'tliat  is  now  neutral,  and  may  hereafter  elect  to  take  a  part  with 
Soain  Tliis  is  a  dilemma  from  which  we  cannot  escape,  without-dis- 
™e'  Send  Ministers,  make  the  agreement-and  the  question  of  peace, 
or  war,  is  noVwithus;  and,  at  any  moment  afterwards  any  European 
or  even  an  American  nation  can  put  you  at  war,  whether  it  may  suit 

your  interest  or  not.,  ,       .        „  ,       T„„f  ^^ 

I  obiect  to  sending  Ministers  for  th^  discussion  of  any  such  subject  or 

for  the  accomplishment  of  any  such  object.  Even  if  we  beheved  that 
such  a  state  of  things  would  probably  be  produced,  as  to  make  it  proper 
for  us  to  take  a  part  in  this  war,  I  would  still  be  opposed  to  any  agree- 
ment  by  which  we  will  become  bound  to  do  so.  It  is  impossible  now  to 
foresee  w^at  may  best  comport  with  the  interest  of  the  United  States  a^ 
any  subse^iuent  period;  and  they  ought  to  be  left  free  to  act,  unlettered 
by  any  agreement  whatever,  as  their  interest  or  honor  may  require, 
when  some  other  power  does  actually  interfere. 

It  is  vain  to  sfly,  we  are  not  to  take  a  part  in  any  belligerent  question ; 
that  our  neutrality  is  not  to  be  violated;  that  we  are  not  to  engage  in 
anything  importing  hostility  to  any  other  power,  while  this  proposition 
is  presented  to  us.     One  of  the  Ministers  who  gave  the  invitation  classes 
the  subject  to  be  discussed  into  lelligerenta.xi(i  peaceful,  and  states  that 
the  United  States  are  not  expected  to  take  any  part  in  i\iQ  first ;  bivt,  in 
the  last,  they  are,  and  in  this  class,  he  specifies  this  very  subject.    Does 
this  make  it  peaceful?     Surely'not.     It  is  belligerent.     I  admit  it  is  not 
;an  absolute  stipulation  to  take  pdrt  in  the  war,  and,  therefore,  some  may 
feel  justified  in  saying  it  does  not  import  hostility;  yet,  it  is  undoubtedly 
an  a-reement  to  take  part  upon  the  happening  of  a  certain  contingency. 
It  will  import  hostility  upon  a  certain  condition,  whicb  contingency  or 
condition  is  not  within  the  control  of  the  United  States. 

After  remarking  upon  the  failure  to  transmit  to  the  Senate  certain 
information  in  regard  to  the  feelings  of  the  European  cabinets  in 
relation  to  any  attempt  to  wrest  Cuba  from  Spain,  Judge  Whito 
proceeded  with  observations  by  no  means  unimportant  or  unseasona- 
ble in  their  bearing  upon  subjects  at  this  very  day  exciting  a  Uvely 
interest  in  the  public  mind.     He  said,  on  this  point : 


44  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

These  colonies  (Cuba  and  Porto  Eico)  are  convenient  to  the  new 
(South  American)  States;  which  having  expelled  their  enemies  from 
their  own  territory,  will  probably  stimulate  a  portion  of  the  inhabitants 
of  those  Islands  to  rebel,  to  declare  themselves  independent  of  Spain, 
and  by  uniting  their  forces  with  those  revolted  subjects,  endeavor  to  put 
down  the  Spanish  authorities  in  those  Islands.  "What  consequences  are 
likely  to  flow  from  such  a  measure?  Russia  probably,  and  France 
almost  certainly,  would  then  immediately  take  part  with  Spain,  in  the 
war.  From  the  documents,  we  have  evidence  that  they  would  have 
strong  inducements  to  interpose  immediately.  It  is  their  wish  that 
Spain  should  retain  her  dominion  over  those  Islands,  because  then  that 
balance  would  be  kept  up  in  the  seas  where  those  Islands  are  situate 
which  those  powers  think  ought  to  be  preserved.* 

Again :  all  monarchs,  and  these  in  particular,  would  feel  an  interest  iq 
check  this  spirit  of  revolt ;  if  not  put  down,  none  of  them  would  feel 
safe ;  and  while  aiding  Spain,  they  would  be  rendering  more  secure  their 
own  dominions.  To  lend  assistance  would  be  esteemed  by  them  a  prin- 
ciple of  self-defence.  Lastly,  these  new  States  have  told  us,  even  now, 
they  suspect  that  France  is  secretly  furnishing  Spain  the  means,  of  con- 
tinuing the  war,  Spain  tells  you  France  is  her  friend — that  "  in  six ' 
troubles  she  has  stood  by  her,  and  that,  in  the  seventh,  she  wiU  not  for- 
sake her ;"  and  from  the  connection  between  these  powei-s,  at  home, 
it  is  rendered  extremely  probable,  that  the  opinions  entertained,  both  by 
the  new  States  and  Spain,  as  to  the  policy  of  France,  will  turn  out  to  be 
correct.  Suppose,  then,  you  sanction  this  mission,  your  Ministers  discuss 
this  subject,  come  to  an  agreement  upon  it,  stipulate  that  if  any  neutral 
power  interferes  on  the  part  of  Spain,  that  the  TJuited  States  will  take 
part  with  the  new  States,  and  Russia  and  France  do  thus  take  part  with 
Spain,  the  casus  foederis  will  then  have  happened,  and  the  United  States, 
in  connection  with  the  Spanish  American  States,  will  thus  become  one 
party  in  the  war,  and  Spain,  Russia,  and  France  the  other,  and  how  or 
when  it  wiU  terminate,  no  man  can  foresee. 

In  this  state  of  things  what  is  to  become  of  our  own  important  inter- 
ests, .our  commerce  for  example,  to  secure  which  we  seem  so  anxious? 
Great  Britain  is  ever  attejitive  to  her  own  interest,  watching  the  course 

*  "  She  is,  however,  in  the  mean  while,  pleased  to  hope,  that  the  United  States,  becoming 
every  day  more  convinced  of  the  evils  and  dangers  tliat  would  result  to  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico 
from  a  change  of  Government,  being  satisfied,  as  Mr.  Clay  has  said  in  his  dispatch,  with  the 
commercial  legislation  of  these  two  Islands,  and  deriving  an  additional  motive  of  security 
from  the  honorable  resolution  of  Spain  not  to  grant  to  them,  any  longer,  letters  of  marque, 
will  use  their  influence  in  defeating,  as  far  as  may  be  in  their  power,  every  enterprise  against 
these  Islands,  in  securing  to  the  rights  of  his  Catliolic  Majesty  constant  and  proper  respect  in 
maintaining  the  only  state  of  iJungs  that  can  preserve  a  just  balance  of  power  in  the  Sea 
of  the  Ar.iiUes,  prevent  shocking  examples,  and,  as  the  Cabinet  at  Washington  has 
remarlied,  secure  to  the  general  peace  salutary  guaranties." — Count  Nesselrode  to  Mr.  Middle- 
ton,  20th  Aug.  1825. 


SPEECH    ON    PANAMA    MISSION.  45 

of  events,  and  turning  them  to  tlie  advantage  of  her  own  subjects.  Even 
now,  some  fcar  slie  is  at  this  Oongress,not  as  a  party  but  as  a  hstener,  and 
will  gain  some  advantage  by  our  delay :  how  would  she  probably  act  ? 
She  would  take  no  part  in  the  war.  She  would  be  neutral,  the  United 
States  belligerent ;  and  what  then  becomes  of  your  commerce  ?  It  will  be 
engrossed  by  your  neighbor,  who  has  been  attending  to  her  own  interest, 
while  you  have  been  seeking  distinction  by  neglecting  your  own  concerns, 
and  attending  to  those  of  other  nations. 

But,  sir,  if  in  this  I  mistake  the  course  of  Great  Britain,  and  she 
shoukl  elect  to  take  a  part  in  the  Avar,  it  Avould  probably  be  on  the  side 
of  Spain,  and  then  Ave  should  have  our  difficulties  increased  to  the  full 
extent  of  her  means  and  resources. 

To  this  view  of  the  case,  I  beg  the  attention  of  the  gentleman  from 
Ehode  Island,  and  respectfully  ask  an  application  of  the  rule  of  "  proba- 
bilities," and  then  let  him  say  whether  this  Congress  is  so  harmless,  and 
whether,  in  his  judgment,  Ave  have  nothing  to  apprehend? 

There  are  other  views  of  this  subject  which  render  it  inexpedient  to 
sanction  this  measure. 

This  agreement  or  treaty  is  to  be  kept  secret.  By  the  frame  of 
our  Government,  treaties  are  to  be  the  supreme  law;  would  it  be  disci-eet 
to  have  a  treaty,  by  which  the  United  States  may  be  involved,  concealed 
from  the  People  ?  It  is  -their  Government,  it  is  their  interests,  that  are 
at  stake,  and  nothing  material  ought  to  be  secreted  from  them. 

Again,  such  an  arrangement  Avould  be*  inconsistent  Avith  our  charac- 
ter for  candor.  We  owe  it  to  ourselves  to  do  no  act,  to  make  no  agree- 
ment, that  A\'e  ought  to  be  unAvilling  to  avow. 

The  very  circmustance  of  a  desire  to  conceal  is  a  proof  that  the  project 
is  inconsistent  Avith  our  professed  neutrality,  and  would  be  justly  offen- 
sive to  Spain  and  to  other  nations. 

After  showing  that  it  Avas  inconsistent  Avifh  the  dignity  of  the 
United  States  to  stipulate  with  other  nations,  according  to  that  article 
of  the  Panama  programme,  which  provided  for  mutual  agreement 
that  no  contrac-ting  State  should  sfiffer  European  colonies  to  be 
planted  Avithin  its  borders,  Judge  White  proceeded  to  another  sub- 
ject, also  absorbingly  interesting  at  this  day,  as  follows : 

Mr.  President :  I  pass  to  the  next  subject  specified.  It  is  to  discuss 
and  agree  upon  the  mfeans  to  be  employed  for  the  entire  abolition  of  the 
slave  trade.  Of  all  subjects  that  could  be  thought  of,  none  would  bo 
found  more  unfortunate  than  this.  It  Avas  hoped,  that,  after  rejecting 
the  conA'ention  Avith  Columbia  upon  this  subject,  the  Senate  woidd  have 
BO  more  of  it  from  foreigners.  If  slavery  is  an  affliction,  all  the  Southern 
and  Western  States  have  it,  and  with  it,  their  pecuhar  modes  of  thinking 


46  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

■npon  all  subjects  connected  witli  it.  In  these  new  States,  some  of  them 
have  put  it  down  in  their  fundamental  law,  "  that  whoever  owns  a  slave 
shall  cease  to  be  a  citizen."  Is  it  then  fit  that  the  United  States 
should  disturb  the  quiet  of  the  Southern  and  Western  States,  by  a  dis- 
cussion and  argument  with  the  new  States,  iipon  any  subject  connected 
with  slavery  ?  I  think  not.  Can  it  be  the  desire  of  any  prominent 
politician  in  the  United  States,  to, divide  us  into  parties  upon  tliQ  subject 
of  Slavery  ?  I  hope  not.  Let  us  then  cease  to  talk  of  slavery  in  this  House^ 
let  us  cease  to  negotiate  upon  any  subject  connected  with  it.  The  United 
States  have  by  their  own  laws  put  an  end  to  the  slave  trade  so  far  as 
their  citizens,  or  their  vessels,  are  concerned  in  it — more  than  this,  they 
ought  not  to  attempt.  Let  other  nations  _^discharge  their  duty  as  well, 
and  the  slave  trade,  so  called,  will  be  abolished. 

One  word  more  upon  this  point,  Mr.  President,  and  I  will  dismiss  it, 
If  there  be  any  gentlemen  iu  the  United  States,  who  seriously  wish  to 
see  an  end  of  slavery,,  let  them  cease  talking  and  writing,  to  induce  the 
Federal  Government  to  take  up  the  subject,  because,  by  the  course  now 
pursued  by  some,  they  are  postponing  a  measure,  whose  accomplishment 
they  profess  a  wish  to  hasten.  Whenever  the  States  in  which  slavery 
exists,  feel  it  as  an  evil  too  intolerable,  move  towards  its  removal 
at  home,  and  applj'  through  their  Legislatures  to  this  Government  for 
aid  to  abolish  it,  then,  and  not  sooner,  we  may  discuss  it  within  these 
walls. 

We-are  invited  to  attend  and  settle  "  the  basis  of  our  relations  to  Hayti," 
and  others^  that  may  be  in  like  circumstances,  &c. 

Will  gentlemen  tell  us  whether  a  Eepresentative  from  Hayti  is  invited 
to  attend  this.  Congress  ?  It  appears  to  me  that  it  will  be  very  unfair 
to  settle  this  questiort,  when  that  Government  is  unrepresented.  It  is 
therefore  most  probable,  her  Minister  is  to  be  there  likewise.  Eeflect, 
Mr.  President,  upon  the  population  of  that  country,  and  upon  that  of 
a  portion  of  our  own,  as  well  as  upon  the  peculiar  modes  of  thinking  in 
Spanish  America,  and  then  let  honorable  gentlemen  say  whetlier  they 
think  this  will  be  a  fit  subject  for  discussion.  It  is  a  questiop  which  the 
South  American  statesmen  must  settle  for  themselves  and  by  themselves. 
Our  situation,  in  relation  to  this  subject,  is  so  peculiarly  delicate,  that  I 
cahnot  suppose  any  real  friend  to  the  Union,  would  propose  that  it  should 
be  settled  at  the  Congress  of  Panama.  The  suggestion  of  such  a  project 
may  be  readily  excused  ■  in  a  foreigner,  but  in  an  American  citizen  it 
•would  be  inexcusable. 

Upon  the  proposition  to  establish  an  Afnerican  system,  Judge 
White  remarked,,  with  solid  and  profound  wisdom  : 

■  The  Minister  from  Central  America  proposes,  that  at  this  Congress 
an  American  Continental  System   shall  be  got  up,  as  Europe  has  one. 


SPEECH    ON    PANAMA    MISSION.  *? 

Let  us  bestow  a  few  thoughts  upon  this  subject,  and  see  to  what  it 
tends.  In  Europe,  the  object  of  their  system  is  to  make  common  cause 
to  support  monarchs  on  their  thrones. 

The  contrary  would  be,  to  make  common  cause  to  secure  in  America 
a  Republican  form  of  government  to  each  nation.  Our  fundamental  prin- 
ciple is,  that  every  nation  ought  to  be  permitted  to  have  just  such  a  form 
of  government  as  the  people  of  that  nation  may  think  best  suited  to  their 
condition,  and  best  calculated  to  secure  their  lives,  liberty,  and  property, 
and  that,  in  settling  their  forms  of  government,  no  other  nation  has  any 

right  to  interfere. 

We  find  fault  with  theEuropean  system,  and  with  the  Holy  Alliance, 
because  it  is  their  object  to  fix  monarchy  upon  the  people  of  the  respec- 
tive States,  whether  the  majorities  in  those  States  are  pleased  with  such 
governments  or  not.  Are  we  then  to  combine  with  other  States,  to  com- 
pel each  one  to  preserve  a  republican  form  of  government,  whether  they 
will  it  or  not  ?  We  believe,  and  I  flatter  myself  truly  believe,  that  ours  is 
the  best  plan  of  govetnment  which  has  yet  been  devised;  but,  if  it  is  the 
best  for  the  people  of  these  United  States,  does  it  thence  follow  that  it 
would  be  the  best  for  every  other  nation  ? 

Ours  is  the  best  for  an  intelligent  and  virtuous  people ;  but  it  does  not 
thence  follow,  that  it  would  be  best  for  an  ignorant  and  vicious  people. 
The  people  of  each  country  ought  to  understand  their  own  character  bet- 
ter than  the  people  of  any  other  country ;  and  they  ought  to  be  the  ex- 
clusive judges  of  what  plan  of  government  is  best  suited  to  their  peculiar 
character  and  condition,  and  any  interference  by  the  people  of  any  other 
country,  to  force  upon  them  a  form  of  government  which  they  do  not 
themselves  choose,  is  an  act  of  tyranny  and  oppression.  The  whole  pro- 
ject, then,  is  wrong  in  principle  and  therefore  ought  not  to  meet  our 

Banction.  .  ,      ' 

Again,  we  are  only  in  the  course  of  experiment  at  home.     Wliether  our 
plan^is  as  perfect  as  it  ought  to  be,  is  at  this  moment  a  subject  of  discus- 
sion over  the  way.     We  are  endeavoring  to  improve  it,  and  hope  to  ren- 
der it  so  perfect  that  we  shall  be  pleased  with  it  for  eveF :  yet,.evfen  we 
may  changaour  minds  upon  that  subject,  and  if  we  do,  we  shall  claim  the 
right  of  changing  our  government  likewise.     Let  us  then  not  be  too 
hasty.     Are  we  sure  our  politicians  are  well  acquainted  with  the  charac- 
ter of  our  own  people  upon  all  points?     It  would  be  unreasonable  to 
suppose  them  intimately  acquainted  with  every  peculiarity  of  character 
in  each  of  the  Spanish  American  States.     Without  this  knowledge,  we 
are  not  in  a  situation  to  form  an  opinion  on  this  subject.     Their  true  char- 
acter is  yet  to  be  developed. .   The  war  must  be  finished  first.     A  foreign 
enemy  may  have  kept  them  in  a  state  of  internal  peace.    Remove  the 
idea  of  this  foreign  enemy,  and  we  cannot  foresee  how  soon  discord  and 
bloodshed  may  ensue  among  themselves.    Even  the  other  day,  ju  one  of 


48  MEMOIE    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

these  States,  we  saw  considerable  resistance  made  to  some  of  their  laws. 
Let  us  then  afford  time  for  a  thorough  development  of  character,  before 
we  identify  our  fate  with  theirs  to  too  great  an  extent,  upon  this,  or  any 
other  point.  But,  again,  in  Europe,  they  have  a  continental  system,  and 
therefore  we  are  to  get  up  a  countervailing  one  in  America.  We  are  to 
have  a  system  opposed  to  a  system ;  the  friends  of  each  endeavoring  to 
make  proselytes;  in  what  will  this  course  terminate?  In  warm  words, 
if  not  in  blows.  It  leads  to  discord  and  war.  We  hav«  extensive  com- 
mercial intercourse  with  the  powers  of  Europe,  as  well  as  with  those  of 
the  new  States.  Our  interest  consists  in  peace  and  friendship  with  all; 
let  us  not  rashly  adopt  a  course  calculated  to  disturb  our  harmony  with 
either.  To  preserve  our  own  liberty ;  to  better  the  condition  of  our  own 
citizens;  will  furnish  sufficient  employment  for  our  own  most  enlightened 
public  servants,  and  let  us  not  suffer  any  one,  from  a  vain  desire  to  fill  an 
imcommon  number  of  pages  in  our  own  future  history,  to  influence  us  to 
such  an  interference  in  the  concerns  of  others,  as  wiH  put  in  jeopardy 
those  of  our  own  people. 

After  examining  the  other  proposed  objects  of  the  mission.  Judge 
White  proceeds  to  exhibit  the  danger  from  such  uncontrolled  powers 
of  appointment  as  ■would  seem  to  exist  in  the  Executive,  if  the  nom- 
inations were  to  be  confirmed. 

Another  point,  however,  is  not  to  be  lost  sight  of.  I  have,  Mr.  Pres- 
ident, upon  this  argument,  been  endeavoring  to  maintain,  that  this  mis- 
sion is  inexpedient.  Upon  one  of  the  incidental  questions  which  we  have 
heretofore  partially  discussed,  I  had  the  honor  of  making  to  the  Senate, 
some  observations  upon  a  question  first  suggested  by  a  gentleman  from 
Kentucky,  and  afterwards  enlarged  upon  by  the  gentleman  from  Vir- 
ginia. It  is  this — is  there  in  truth,  any  vacant  office  to  fill  with  the 
persons  now  nominated  ?  I  have  insisted  there  is  not,  that  we  have  be- 
gun this  business  at  the  wrong  end.  In  our  government  we  can  have  but 
two  sources  from  which  offices  can  be  created.  The  one  is  the  Consti- 
tution, the  other  statutes  made  by  Congress.  These  offices  are  not  cre- 
ated by  the  one,  or  by  the  other.  By  the  Constitution,  the  President,  by 
and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  can  appoint  ambassadors, 
and  other  public  ministers,  &c. 

Under  this  provision,  the  President  has  the  power,  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  Senate,  to  appoint  an  ambassador,  or  any  other  public 
agent,  recognized  by,  and  known  to  the  laws  of  civilized  nations ;  but  as 
to  all  other  offices,  they  must  be  created  by  some  statute  of  the  United 
States,  before  any  person  is  nominated  to  fill '  them.  The  sole  question 
upon  this  point,  then,  is,  are  such  ministers  as  those  now  proposed,  known 
to,  and  recognized  by^  the  law  of  nations  ?    I  deny  that  they  are.    The 


SPEECH    ON    PANAMA    MISSION.  49 

Congress  13  created  by  treaties,  among  the  Spanish  American  States.  It 
is  contended  by  gcntloraeu  on  the  other  side,  tliat  it  has  no  attribute  of 
sovereignty  attaolied  to  it— if  this  be  so,  then  you  cannot,  by  the  lajv  of 
nations,  send  ftny  ministers  to  transact  business  with  such  a  body.  If  you 
dp  send  them,  it  must  be  in  virtue  of  some  treaty,  or  by  virtue  of  some 
statute  of  tlie  United  States.  In  this  instance,  there  is  neither  the  one 
nor  the  otlier.  Therefore,  tliere  is  no  office  as  yet  created,  and  until  one 
is  created,  neither  the  President  alone,  nor  he,  with  the  advice  of  the  Sen- 
ate, can,  consist'dntly  with  the  Oonstitittion,  proceed  to  till  it. 

The  fair  way  to  have  taken  the  sense  of  the  nation  upon  the  expediency 
of  this  mission  would  have  been  to  have  consulted  Congress,  in  tlieir 
legislative  capacity,  on  the  propriet>y  of  the  mission,  by  asking  an  appro- 
priation to.defray  the  expenses  of  it,  and  stating  the  objects  expected  to  be 
obtained  by  it.  The  subject  would  then  have  come  fairly  before  the 
representatives  of  the  nation,  who  would  have  discussed  and  decided 
upon  its  expediency  with  oiien  doors.  If  affirmatively  decided,  the  offices 
would 'have  been  created  by  statute,  and  then,  the  Pj-esident  could  hafve 
nominated  characters,  which  he  deemed  suitable  to  fill  them,  and  upon 
these  nominations,  the  Senate  Avould  have  acted  in  their  executive  capa- 
city, and  advised  Ihe  President  whether,  in'  their  opinion,  these  men 
were  jor  were  not,  suitable  persons  to  fill  these  offices.  But  here  the 
order  of  things- is  reversed — the  Senate  has  been  called  upon  to  discuss 
and  settle  the  expediency  of  this  mission,  upon  mere  nominations  \o 
office,  and  if  the  nominations  should  be  confirmed,  then  '<ve  arp  to  pass  a 
law  in  the  shape  of  an  .appropriation  bill,  by  which,  the  offices  will,  for 
the  first  time,  be  created.  The  injustice  of  this  course,  to  the  minority 
on  this  question,  and  to  the  nation,  is  obvious.  Upon  the  nominations  we 
have  been  constraihed  to  act  with  closed  doors,  the  nation  has  no  knowledge 
of  the  facts  upon'5vhich  our  opinions  rest,  nor  of  the  reasons  in  support 
of  those  opinions.  Little  do  they  suspect  that  principles  of  such  vital 
irAportance  are  involved  in  this  decision. 

I  have  again  mentioned  this  point,  not  intending  to  argue  it  the  second 
time.     I  mention  it  because,  if  a  majority— thus  irregularly,  I  might 

say in  my  opinion,  unconstitutionally — determine  that  this  mission  is 

expedient,  I  must  and  will,  entertaining  the  opinion  I  now  do,  vote 
against  any  man,  Avho  has  been,  or  can  be  nominated,  because  I  will  not 
agree  to  fill  any  office  which  I  do  not  believe  has  the  sanction  of  either 
the  Constitution  or  law  of  the  United  States  for  its  creation. 

The  result  of  the  discussion  was  tbat  the  nominees  of  the  President, 
Messrs. 'John  Serjeant,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Richard  C.  iVnderson,  of 
Kentuck)^,  were  confirmed,  by  a  vote  of  24  to  20,  But  they  were 
never  sent  upon  their  errand,  for  the  Congress  was  never  lield.  And 
the  effervescence  of  popular  interest  in  the  scheme  rapidly  dying 

4 


50  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH     LAWSON    WHITE, 

away,  the  "  sober  second  thought"  of  the  people  resulted  in  a  general 
acquiescence  in  tlie  sound  and  moderate  views  of  Judge  White  and 
his  fellow  opponents  to  the  mission. 

At  the  time  of  Judge  White's  entrance  into  the  Senate  there  was, 
and  had  for  some  time  existed,  throughout  the  Western  States'  a  very 
just  cause  <)f  complaint,  in  the  -unfair  apportionment  of  the  United 
States  Judiciary  Districts.  In  nine  of  the  Western  States,  the  deci- 
sions in  the  United  States  Courts  were  rendered,  either  by  a  District 
Judge  alone,  or  with  very  little  and  cuxsory  assistance  from  the 
Circuit  Judge;  a  state  of  things  which  caused  the  administration  of 
justice  in  those  States  to  be  both  slower  and  more  erroneous  than  in 
the  remaining  fifteen,  by  reason  of  the  action  of  a  single  judge,  and 
of  the  necessary  shortness  and  infrequency  of  the  terms  in  ^ch 
circuit.  Upon  Judge  White's  first  entrance  into  Congress,  his  atten- 
tion was  given  to  this  subject.  With  great  difficulty  a  bill  pasged  the 
House  of  Representatives,  creating'  three  additional  circuits,  and 
requiring  three  additional  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court.  It  was  sent 
to  the  Senate,  and  then  to  the  Judiciary  Committee,  who  amended  it 
in  two  particular^;  making  it  the  duty  of  the  three  additional  judges 
to  reside  in  the  new  circuits,  and  secondly,  changing  the  distribution 
of  the  different  States  from  that  proposed  in  the  original  bill.  These 
amendments  passed  the  Senate  by  a  vefry  large  majority. _  Of  the  ten 
Senators  fi-om  the  five  States  of  Kentucky,  Ohio,  Indiana,, Illinois,  and 
Missouri,  only  three  were  in  favor  of  the  disti'ibution  made  in  the  bill 
from  the  House.  That  body,  however,  refused  to  agree  to  either  of 
the  Senate  amendments,  the  Senate  adhered  to  both,  and  thus  the  bill 
was  lost.  Judge  White  voted  Avith  the  majority.  His  former 
position  at  the  bar,  and  on  the  bench,  enabled  hirato  appreciate  the 
wants  of  the  Western  country  in  this  particular,  and  he  did  not 
slumber  over  them.'  At  the  next  session,  he  again  brought  the 
subject  before  Congress  in  a  speech,  showing  the  inequality  as  to  the 
administration  of  justice  under  which  the  Western  States  had  been 
laboring,  and  arguing  that  the  evil  ought  to  be  remedied ;  and  used 
his  endeavors'  to  have  it  acted  on,  but  for  want  of  time  the  subject  was 
then  postponed. 

Judge  AVhite's  remarks  on' this  subject,  furnish  a  cleai'  analysis  of 
the  wants  of  the  West  in  the  particular  under  consideration,  and 
intelligent  views  of  the  operation  of  residence,  or  non-^residence.  upon 
the  professional  ability  and  success  of' a  judge;  and  contain  so  many 
suggestions  of  permanent  value  upon  £he  practical  duties  of  the  judi- 


JUDICLVRT    APPORTION?  MENT.  51 

cial  office,  as  to  justify  the  insertion  of  portions  of  hife  speech, 
delivered  Apnl  11,  1826,  that  is,  during  th;it  one  of  the  two  sessional 
above  referred  to,  in  whicK  the  Senate  and  House  failed  to  agree  upon 
a  bill  to'  meet  the  Avants  of  the  West  in  the  required  reformation  of 
the  courts. 

Judcje  White  said; 

If  it  could  be  shown  that^the  remedy  proposed  to  obviate  the  incon- 
veniences complained  of  in  those  sections  of  country,  woi;ld  be  injurious 
to  the  whole  Union,  he  ought  not  to  expect,  or  to  wish,  that  their  special 
inconveniences  should  be  removed  to  the  injury  of  the  whole  community. 
The  subj/ect.on  which  we  are  about  to  legislate  is,  in  my  mind,  one 
of  injinite  importance.  "We  are  about  to  pass  an  act  in  relation  to  a 
department  of-  the  government  which  every  man  feels  and  ought  to 
understand..  It  is  in  vain  we  enact  good  laws  unless  they  are  well  admin- 
istered. .  It  is  that  department  of  government  which  operates  directly 
on  the  persons  and  property  of-  individuals  who  happen  to  be  citizens  of 
thetFnited  States,  so  far  as  the  jurisdiction  is  local,  or  so  far  as  it  relates 
to  the  internal  concerns  of  the  citizens  of  the  respective  States.  So  far  as 
it  may  o^^erate  on  general  principles  it  is  sl?ll  more  important— therefore 
have  I  heard  with  great  attention  everything  that  has  been- urged  by  gen- 
tlemen who  are  opposed  td  it,-  and  I  shall  still  be  ^lad  to  hea»  all  further 
objections  that  can  be  urged. 

We  cannot  judge  whether  the  alteration  will  be  beneficial  or  injurious, 
without  first  making  ourselves  acquainted  with  the  iHconvftniences  which 
are  supposed  to  exist.  Till  we  are  acquainted  with  the  disease  we  can- 
not tell  what  will  be  a  "suitable  remedy.  I  think  I  can,  if  favored  with 
the  attention  of  the  Senate,  if  not  already  satisfied  on  that  point,  satisfy 
them  that  the' disease  lies  much  deeper  than  the  gentleman' from -Ehode 
Island  seems  to  sui^pose.  I' paid  gr-eat  attention  to  the  argument,  and  hp 
seems  to  think,  so  for  as  I  can  understand  it^  that  the  main  grievance  ^ 
which  we  are  called  on  to  remedy,  is  the  delny  which  takes  place  in  the~ 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  Slates.  He  has  not  even,  in  his' excellent 
argument,  given  the  most  distant  glance  at  the  situation  of  that  section 
of  the  country  which  is  on  the  other  side  of  the  mountains,  to  see  what 
the  local  inconveniences  are,  and  whether  the  remedy  he  pro^wses  would 
be  a  suitable  one  or  not.  The  grievances  which  do  exist  in  the  country, 
are,  as  I  think,  of  two  kinds ;  one,  in  {he  manner  in  wdiieh  the  business 
is  conducted  in  the  respective  States;  the  other,  that  wiiich  exists  in 
the  Supreme  Court  itself;  and  this  latter  does  not  consist  so  much  in  the 
delay,  as  in  the  incorrectness  of  the  decisions  where  the  questions  depend 
upon  the  municipal  laws  of  the  respective  States: 

These  are  the  grievances  which  exist,  and  which  it  is  the  object  of  this 


Sa  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

'bill  to  remedy.  First,  by  extending  to  nine  States  tbe  circuit  system, 
■wbich  is  applicable  to,  and  practised  beneficially  in,  tbe  other  fifteen 
States ;  and  secondly,  to  increase  on  tbe  bench  of  tbe  Supreme  Court  a 
knowledge  of  tbe  local  laws  ;  those  are  its  leading  objects..  These  nine 
States,  when  we  look  to  them,  we  find  thus  circumstanced :  Six  of  them 
have  never  bad,  either  nominally  or  in  fact,  the  benefit  of  a  eij'cuit  judge, 
three  of  these  States  bad  nominally,  and  to  a  very'limitetl  extent,  tbe 
benefit  of  tbe  attendance  of  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Oouri  frgra  the 
year  1809  up  to  this  time.  I  say  they  have  bad  it  nominally,  but  not  so, 
in  point  £)f  fact.  When  the  judge  of  the  seventh  circuit  was  in  the 
vigor  of  life,  and  in  the  enjoyment  of  perfect  health,  it  wa§  bis  duty  to 
attend  and  bold  circuit  courts  iji  the  districts  of  Eas.t  and  West  Ten- 
nessee, of  Kentucky  and  Ohio,  and  from  the  necessity  he  was  under  of 
leaving  on-e  court  in  time  to  arrive  at  the  next,  in  his  circuit,  an  oppor- 
tunity was  not  afibrded  him  of  disposing  of  tbe  causes  on  either  docket. 
For  example,  be  .would  have  suits  enough  in  West  Tennessee  to  I'equire  a 
session  of  two  months,  but  at  the  end  of  three  or  four  weeks  he  was 
compelled  to  be  in  Kentucky,  distant  two  hundred  miles,  and  so  on ;  and 
thus  it  happened,  either  that  the  district  judges  must  continue  tlie  courts 
.  after  his  departure,  or  the  causes  must  remain  untlecided.  In  important 
suits,  parties  would  not  be  Willing  to  trust  the  opinion  ,of  the  district 
judge  alone,  and  he  would  willingly  yield  to  applications  for  delay,  until 
be  could  have  tlie  assistance  of  the  judge  of  tiie  Supreme  Court,  and 
thus  tbe  business  must  be  either  long  delayed,  or  in  most  instances  decided 
in  the  circuit  courts  of  those  three  States,  by  tbe  district  judge  alone. 
For  sever(il  of -tbe  last  years  of  j'udge  Todd's  life,  his  want  of  health  put 
it  out  of  bis  power  to  attend  his  circuit  courts,  ftnd  thug  it  has  bappened 
that  the  business  -in  Tennessee,  Kentucky  and  Ohio,  has  accumulated  to 
ffa  jinfeasonable  extent,  and  those  States  have,  in  truth,  been  no  better 
provided  with  an  opportunity  of  obtaining  a  due  administration  of  jus- 
tice in  their  Federal  Courts,  than  the  other  six  Western  States ;  and  boAV 
is  it  with  regard  to  them?  They  have  never  had  the  benefit  of  the  cir- 
cuit system,  even  nominally..  They  have  each  a  district  judge,  ^lio  tl'^e^ 
all  the  duties  which  other  district  judges  pei-form,  and  who  is  vested  with 
the  jurisdiction  which  circuit  courts  possess  in  the  other  States.  So 
•far  as  relates  to  .the  grievances  which  exist  in  the. country,  we  are  safe  in 
considering  tbe  whale  nine  States  to  be  practically  in  tbe  same  situation. 
When  we  come  to  look  at-tbe  laws  which  vest  the  courts  with  jurisdic- 
tion, we  find  that  a  large  portion  of  the  jurisdiction  which  is  to  be  exer- 
cised in  those  nine  States,  is  of  that  description  which  falls  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  a  circuit  court,  and  not  within  the  jurisdiction  of  a  dis- 
trict court.  A  district  coart,  as  such,  can  have  no  jurisdiction  of  suits 
between  A  and  B,  Avhether  citizens  of  the  United  States,  or  of  different 
States.     Some  attempts  have  been  ma^le  to  get  them  to  eiitertaiu  jurisdic- 


JUDICIARY    APPORTIONMENT. 


53 


tton  of  the  suits  loetween  citizens  of  different  States,  when  the  matter  in 
dispute  is  of  more  vahio  than  twenty,  and  of  less  than  five  hundred 
dollars,  but  ?!o  far  as  I  know,  they  have  been  unsuccessful. 

As  it  relates  to  a  great  portion  of  the  jurisdiction-which  is  to  be  exer- 
cised in  those  nine  States,  the  Senate  must  see  at  once,  it  is  of  that  class 
of  cases  which  belongs  to  the  circuit  courts  in  the  other  States.  What 
is  the  situation  of  these  other  States  ?  They  have,  in  point  of  fact,  as 
well  as  in  point  of  law,  a  circuit  court,  composed  of  one  judge  of 
the  Supreme  Coiirt,  and  the  district  judge.  When  a  suit  is  brought^  and 
the  matter  in  dispnte  exceeds,  the  sum  of 'two  thousand  dollars,  upon  the 
trial  the  parties,  have  the  benefit  of  the  opinions^of  two  men,  which  will 
in  most  instances  be  satisfactory  :  but  if  not,  the  unsuccessful  party  can 
remove  it  to  the  Supreme  Court  and  there  have  the  judgment  'revised, 
and  if  wrong  revei-sed.  If  the  matter  in  dispute  is  less  than  two-  thous- 
and dollars,  and  the  judges  disagree  in  opinion  upon  any  point,  either  party 
can  have  that  point  certified  to  the  Supreme  Court,  then  revised,  and  the 
judgment  of  the  circuit  Qourt  rendered  in  conformity  with  the  opinion 
of  the  Supreme  Court.  It  all  criminal  cases  the  defendant  has  the  like 
advantage.  How  is  it  in  those  nine  States  ?  In  no  case,  either  civil  or 
criminal,  can  the  parties  in  the  circuit  court  have  any  opinion  but 
that  of  the  district  judge,  which  in  every  criminal  case,  and  in  every^ 
civil  one  where  the  matter  in  dispute  is  of  4ess  value  than  two  thousand 
dollars,  is  final  and  conclusive  whether  right  or  wrong ;  and  in  all  other 
civil  causes,  although  an  erroneous  judgment  may  be  revised  in  the 
Supi-eme  Court,  it  is  at  an  expense  and  trouble  which  would  often  be 
avoided  if  two  judges  sat  in  the  circuit  court. 

The  gentleman  from  New  Hampshire  said  yestferday,,we  of  the  West 
would  not  compare  wealth  with  those  in  the  East ;  all  true  enough ;  and 
therefore  there  are  many  causes  where  the  matter  in  dispute  does  not 
amount  to  two  thousand  dollars,  and  still  it  is  very  material  to  thepar- 
ties  that  they  should  be  dorrectly  decided.  It  is  certainly  not  just  that  a 
man  should  be  punished  as  a  criminal  under  an  erroneous  jndgment,_  or 
that  he  should  lose  his  all  by  the  like  means,  while  those  living  under  the 
same  government  are  protected  in  their  persons  and  property  becalusle 
more  wealthy.  We  are  one  people  living  under  a  goVemment  common 
to  us  all,  and  each  State  has  a  right  to  expect  from  the  Federal  Govei-n- 
ment,  that  a  like  provision  will  be  made  for  h^r  citizens,  with  that  made 
for  the  citizens  of  the  other  States.  This  liiis  not  been  done,  and  as 
we  are  to  be  one  people,  we  have  a  right  to  expect  it  will  be  no  longer 
delayed.    . 

Fifteen  of  the  States  of  this  Union  have  more  than  double  the  chance 
for  a  correct  exposition  of  your  laws  that  the  other  nine  have ;  these 
nine  complain  of  this  inequalitf,  and  the  only  wonder  is,  that  their  com- 
plaints have  not  been  more  loud  and  frequent  against  this  cryilig  injustice. 


54  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

Tennessee  \viis  admitted  into  thisTJnion  npoa  an  equal  footing  id  ith  the 
original  States,  and  so  have  the  othei"  Western  States  been.  These  States 
feel  that  this  promised  equality  has  not  been  extended 'to  them;  as  sove- 
reign States,  they  insist  that  their  citizens  musthe  placed  in  a  situation  where 
their  persons  and  property  shall  be  equally  as  safe  in  the  Federal  Courts, 
as  the  citizens  of  any  other  State  are  in  their  persons  and  property.  "With 
nothing  less  than  this  will  they  be  contented.  But  it  is  said  the  proper 
time  is  not  ceme;  we  dve.used  as  well  as  othgi-s  have  tjeen  used.  Lshotild 
be  glad  to  know  when  the*time  will  arrive  ? 

Tennessee  is  thirty  years  old,  Kentucky  is  older.  Ohio  came  into  the 
Union  in  1803,  Louisiana,  in  1812,  Indiana  in  1S16-,  Illinois  in  1816, 
Missouri  in  1821,  Mississippi  in  1^817',  Alabauift  several  years  ago.  "Will 
tl»e  gentleman  tell  us  wlien  we  'shall  have' arrived 'at  such  mature  age, 
as  to-  entitle  us  to  the  same  benefits  of  the  Federal  judiciary  that  are 
^fijoyed  by  the  other  States  ?  Sometimes  they  are  willing  to  recognize 
Tis  as  at  years  of  discretion,  to  put  their  dearest  interests  in  our  keeping. 
Personal  services,  money,  anything  we  have^  we-  are  disposed  lo  reader 
freely  our  full  share  of,  according  to  our  abilities.  "We  ai-e  willing  to  do 
our  duty ;  and  I  call  upon  the  Senate  to  say  whether  they  do  their  duty 
to  us,  if  they  do  not  put  the  administration  of  justice  on  the  same  foot- 
ing in  the.  Westei-n  States,  as  it  is  in  the  others.  Is  not  the.lif©.of  a  man 
in  any  one  of  those  nine  States,  woi'th  as  much  to  society  as  it.  would  be, 
if  he  were  a  constituent  of  the  gentleman  from  New  Hampshire  or  Rhode 
Island  ?  Is  it  not  reasonable  to  afford  the  same  man  as  good  a  chance 
for  justice  in  the  States  wherg  he^aow  lives  as  he  would  have  if  he  lived 
in  any  other  ?     Is  that  opportunity  furnished,?     No,  Sir,  it  is  not. 

It  was  intimated  we  had  not  applied  in  time.  "Why  did  Ave  not  apply 
at  the  time  we  were  admitted  into  the  Union?  "We  did  apply,  and  you 
promised  us,  and  we  now  respectfully  ask  a  compliance  with  that  pi'o- 
inise.  H^d  we  been  of  the  original  States,  should. we  cot  have  had  the 
benefit  we  now  ask  you  to  extend  to  us?  Surely-  we  should  ;  therefore, 
do  not  put  us  off  with  less  now. 

It  may  be  said  there  is  not  much  in  all  this ;  the  wrong  is  on  a  limited 
scale,  because  the  State  Courts  do  the  mass  of  the  business.  "When  the 
people  aj-e  called  to  account  for  crimes,  they  are  called  before  State  Courts, 
to  answer  for  offences  against  the  State,  and  not  for  those  against  the 
United  States.  If  gentlemen  will  think  a  little  they  will  see  the  case  is 
not  so.  "We  have- heard  a  good  deal  resptecting  Indians  latterly ;  there  is 
a  portion  of  the  territory  within  the  limits  of  the  Western  States,  where 
tlie  Indian  title  is  not  extinguished,  and  when  that  is  the  ca.se,  every 
offence  committed  by  a  white  citizen  against  an  Indian  on  the  Indian 
^ide  of  the  line,  is, a  subject  of  Federal  and"  not  of  State  jurisdietion, 
according  to  our  laws;  so  likewise  of  ^crimes  coijimitted  by  Indians  on 
citizens.     Trials  for  crimes  under  this  branch  of  your  laws  'are  not  unfro- 


JUDICIARY   APPORTIONMENT.  55 

quent,  and  no  matter  whether  the  accused  is  a  white,  or  a  red  man,  a 
foir  opportunity  for  a  correct  exposition  and  apphcation  of  the  laws 
ought  to  he  fuj-nished.  Against  the  Indians,  prejudices  invariably 
exist;  they  are  ignorant,  not  only  of  our  laws  and  forms  of  proceedings, 
but  of  our  language  also;  and  common  humanity' requires  that  at  least 
the  same  measure  of  justice  should  be  meted  them,  as  to  a  white  citizen. 
I  have  witnessed  several  of  those  trials,  and  have  no  doubt  they  were 
conducted  with  perfect  integrity ;  yet  the  legal  correctness  of  some 
might  well  be  doubted.  The  criminal  business  then  which  has  existed 
and  may  exist  in  the  courts  in  some  of  these  States  Is  not  so  limited  as 
those  at  a  distance  might  incline  to  believe. 

But',  sir,  we  are  told  tliat  the  accumulation  of  business  in  some  of 
these  courts,  in  the  three  States,  is  produced  by  temporary  causes  that  are 
passing  away,  and  that  there  is  no  necessity  for  any  alteration  in  the 
system  on  that  account:  that  one  circuit  judge  can  do  all  the  business 
in  those  three  States.  It  is  not  to  pass  away  so  rapidly  as  the  gentle- 
paen  suppose.  I  do  not  doubt  the  correctness  of  the  statement  of  any 
gentleman  living  in  any  one  of  those  States ;  he  knows  what  the  business  is ; 
therefore  I  do  not  choose  to  doubt  the  correctness  of  what  was  advanced 
by  the  gentleman  from  Kentucky.  I  hav«  bQfore  me  a  certificate  from  the 
clerk  of  the  district  and  cifcuit  court  of  Kentucky,  and  at  the  session  of  No- 
vember last,  the  number  of  causes  on  the  two  dockets  combined  wei'e  nine 
hundred  and  fifty.  As  very  little  busines's  is  to  be.  done  in  this  district 
court,  much  the  greater  poi'tion  must  be  on  the  circuit  court  docket  of 
that  State.  How  is  it  in  Tennessee  ?  You  have  the  statement  of  the  gen- 
tleman who  belongs  to  the  "Western  part,  and  altogether  it  may  be  esti- 
mated at  two  hundred.  But  it  is  not  the  number  of  causes  which  proves 
the  necessity  of  a  circuit  judge,  and  an  extension  of  the  system;  this 
necessity  is  produced,  more  by  the  kind  of  causes  that  are  to  be  decided, 
than  by  their  number.  These  causes  are  generally  in'  their  own  nature, 
especially  those  brought  into  the  Federal  Court  of  Tennessee,  of  the  most 
litigated  description.  ,  Many  of  them  relate,  to  lands ;  foi-eigners  claim 
titles  to  them,  and  assert  them  in  the  Federal  Courts.  It  is  neces- 
sary to  go  back  and  examine  wliat  was  the  condition  of  the  country 
forty  years  ago,  and  you  get  into  a  set  of  difficulties,  from  which  nothing 
can  extricate  you,  but  a  patient,  laborious  and  protracted  investigation. 
They  necessarily  consume  a  great  deal  of  time,  first. in  ascertaining  the 
facts  before  a  jury  who  are  to  decide  the  cause;  and  next  in  investigating 
the  legal  principles  which  are  to  govern  that  decision.  To  investigate  and 
decide  one  of  those  causes,  has  sometimes  taken  two  weeks ;  suppose  only 
one  hundred  causes  on  the  docket,  I  ask,  if  it  would  not  be  more  necessary 
to  extend  the  judicial  system  through  a  country  like  that,  than  to  a  place 
where  there  was  five  hundred  on  the  docket,  of  which  thirty  er  forty 
might  be  disposed  of  in  a  day.     If  we  were  to  be  governed  by  the  mere 


56  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LA.W80N    WHITE. 

number  of  causes  we  should  make  a  most  important  mistake  as  relates  to 
this  matter.  Many  disputes  in  Tennessee  relate  to  land,  the  titles  to 
which  are  founded  on  the  &ct  of  1777  in  North  Carolina,  or  the  act  of 
1783,  or  those  acts  to  which  these  two  have  given  birth,  and  in  investi- 
gating matters  of.fact,  it  is  necessary  to  go  back  and  ascertain  what  were 
tlie  names  of  ditferent  places  at  difierent  times,  from  those  periods  up  to  this 
time ;  the  whole  country  was  a  wilderness,  and  eveiy  man  who  had  a 
claim  tmder  these  laws  had  a  right  to  select  a  piece  of  land  within  ai  cer- 
tain boundary,  of  from  four  to  five  hundred  miles  one  way,  and  one 
hundred  miles  the  other.  We  had  not  only  to  investigate  our  titles 
derived  from  the  State  of  North  Carolina,  but  in  some  instances  those 
issued  by  Virginia  and  perhaps  Kentucky,  likewise,  as  disputes  respecting 
boundary  with  those  States  once  existed,  upon  adjusting  which  provision 
is  made  to  secure  individual  rights. 

We  have  amongst  our  own  citizens  those  who  claim  under  Virginia 
grants,  under  Kentucky  grants,  under  North  Cai'olina  grants,  and  under 
those  issued  by  the  ■  State  of  Tennessee.  Wherever  there  is  any  dispute 
respecting  any  of  these  conflicting  titles,  they  may  go  into  the  Federal 
Court,  although  the  parties  may  be  citizens  of  the  sauie  State.  You  are 
extinguishing  the  Indian  title  as  fast  as  those  people  are  Avilling  to  sell ; 
and,  wherever  you  do,  the  settlements  will  keep  pace  with  the  extinguish- 
ment of  title.  In  Tennessee  there  is  a  very  large  district  of  countrj^ 
granted  to  individuals  under  the  law  of  North  Carolina  in  1783,  which, 
until  a  very  short  time  ago,  the  United  States  had  secured  to  the  Indians 
by  treaty ;  that  country  is  now  settling,  and  every  man  has  to  look  for 
the  land  for  which  he  obtained  his  patent.  Many  of  these  conflict,  and 
whenever  they  do,  and  a  foreigner  happens  to  be  the  owner  of  one  of 
these  titles,  the  consequence  ie,  that  the  pause  goes  into  the  Federal 
Court.  So  long  as  this  process  of  extinguishing  the  Indian  title,  and 
settling  the  country,  is  going  on,  it  is  in  vain  for  gentlemen  to  say  that 
those  disputes  are  produced  by  temporary  causes,  or  that  they  are  pass- 
ing away ;  they  cannpt  pass  away  until  your  settlements  are  completed. 

Do  we  not  all  know  that,  in  1794,  and  onward  for  several  years,  a. 
great  rage  for  speculation  existed,  in  Philadelphia,  Ne-yv  York  ahd  the 
Eastern  States ;  tluat  immense  quantities  of  Westei-n  lands  were  bought 
up  by  foreigners,  or  citizens  of  other  States  ?  Considerable  quantities  were 
purchased  in  Temiessee.  These  companies  have  found  it  convenient  to 
part  with  their  titles  to  various  individuals,  and  those  claimants  who 
have  got  titles  in  this  mannei-,  living  in  other  States,  when  they  come 
forward  to  assert  their  titles,  now  that  the  Indian  title  is  extinguished, 
assei-t  them  in  the  Federal  Courts.  •  •■.>■-    ■ 

But,  the  gentleman  says,  you  have  Federal  Courts,  and  the  people  must 
have  confidence  in  them,  because,  if  they  had  not,  they  would  sue  in  the 
State  Courts.    Will  the  Senate  reflect,  for  a  moment,  on  the  idea  sug- 


JUDICIARY   APPORTIONMENT.  57 

gested,  and  they  will  easily  see  some  of  tho  difficulties  under  which  we 
labor.  The  titles  to  tlie  land  must  be  settled  by  the  laws  of  the  State  in 
which  the  laud  lies.  A  citizen  of  another  State,  or  a  foreigner,  claims 
title  to  a  tract  in  Tennessee ;  he  finds  a  man  in  possession  under  a  con- 
flicting title.  This  foreigner  can  sue  eithei-  in  the  Federal  or  State  Courts, 
at  his  electiop.  He  submits  his  title  to  counsel,  who  advises  liira  that, 
according  to  the.decisions  of  the  State  Courts,  the  man  in  possession  has 
the. better  title.  The  foreigner  orders  suit  in  the  Federal  Court;  ithere  ia 
but  one  judge,  and  he,  livjng  in  the  State,  will  likely  follow  the  State 
decisions,  and  give  judgment  in  favor  of  the  defendant.  The  plaintiff 
takes  a  writ  of  error,  and  can-ies  the  cause  to  the  Supreme  Court,  before 
a  aet  of  Judges,  who  neither  know  or  have  they  the  means  of  knowing, 
the  local  laws,  or  the  true  reasons  of  the  decision ;  and,  -for  want  of  this 
information,  judgment  is  reversed,  and  thus  the  plaintifl^  becomes  tho 
owner  of  a  piece  of  property  which  he  otherwise  would  not  have  ac- 
quired. Plaintiffs  often  commence  suit  in  the  Federal  Courts  .expressly 
for  the  sake  of  gaining  an  advantage  over  their  adversaries,  which  they 
could  not  get  in  any  other  tribunal  whatever.  And  yet,  this  is  the  argu- 
ment relied  on  to  show  that  Federal  justice  is  well  administered  to  us. 

"What,  sir,  is  the  situation  of  the  other  States,  Louisiania  for  example  ? 
Thi^se  are  British,  Spanish,. and  French  grants;  so  also,. in  Mississippi  and 
Missouri.  All  these  may  go,  and  mostly  do.  go,  into  the  Federal  Courts, 
principally  for  tire  sake  of  having  these  cases  removed  into  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  if  such  a  decision  is  not  given  as  is  satisfac- 
tory to  the  plaintiff.  So  far  as  Tennessee  is  concerned,  those  Avho  act 
under  the  belief  that  our  business  has  accumulated  from  temporary  causes, 
are  in  the  main  mistaken :  to  a  limited  extent,  nO  doubt,  they  are  correct, 
I  believe  if  our  circuit  had  been  one  of  reasonable  extent,  and  we  had  the 
benefit  of  our  circuit  judge  the  number  of  suits  on  our  docket  would 
have  been  much  less.  Where  a  man  Ivas  a  eause  which  he  thinks  he 
ought  to  gain,  if  the  law  is  well  understood,  he  will  not  agree  to  have 
that  cause  tried  before  any  one  man,  when  there  is  another  of  a  higher 
leg^l  character.  It  is  a  very  unpleasant  thing  to  have  to  settle  disputes 
between  man  and  man,  and  .when  it  comes  to  the  last  stage,  there  are  Ifew 
men  who  would  not  like  to  be  eased  of  a  portion  of  the  responsibility  of 
the  decision.  If  a  reasonable  excuse  can  be  made  to  defer  it  to  another 
time  the  district  judge  will  fall  in  with  it,  because  his  associate  will  then 
be  with  him,  and  he  will  have  the  benefit  of  his  opinion,  and  be  better 
satisfied,  if  they  agree,  that  he  is  right,  than  if  there  was  none  with  him, 
and  if  he  should  disagree  in  opinion  with  him,  by  certifying  that  there 
was  a  difference  of  opinion,  it  could  be  carried  into  the  Supreme  Court, 
and  no  mischief  would  arise.  It  is  to  their  credit  that  they  have  this 
disposition.  I  do  not  make  unnecessary  complaints  against  the  district 
judge  of  the  State  in  which  I  Hve.     He  is  entitled  to  as  much  character 


58  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

as  any  other  judicial  officer  on  the  score  of  integrity;  and  if  he  ever  does 
make  mistakes,  which,  I  think,  is  but  seldom,  it  is  in  endeavoring  to  attain 
that  which  he  thinks  the  justice  of  particular  cases.  The  people  of 
Tennessee  have  as  much  right  as  the  people  of  any  other  State  in  the 
Union,  to  have  the  opinions  of  two  men  who  will  concur,  as  to  which  is 
right  in  their  disputes.  It  is  vain  to  tell  me  we  ai'e  placed  on  an  equal 
footing  with  the  other  States,  Avhile  they  have  one  measure  of  justice 
meted  to  their  citizens  and  the  citizens  of  Tennessee  have  a  different  mea- 
sure meted  to  them.  I  would  rather  you'  should  lop  off  one  of  our  Sena- 
tors, or  three  of  our  Representatives — redpce  us  as  to  the  power  we  have 
in  the  Executiv-e  and  Legislative  business'  of  ibis  government,  but  when 
you  come  to  the  practical  operations  of  this  government,  that  are  to  take 
away  a  man's  life,  liberty  or  property,  let  our  citizens  have- an  equal  op- 
portunity for  the  administration  of  justice,^w}th  any  portion  of  th«  good 
people  of  the  United  States.  '      .  ' 

During  the  last>-8ession  this  subject  was  before  you  and  was  put  off  by 
saying,  we  have  not  had  time  to  examine  it,  and  at  the  next  session,  we 
wiU  all  lay  our  sholilders  to  the  wheel  and  accomplish  this  particular  task. 
And,  sir,  where  are  we  now?  About  the  12th  of  April  they  took  up  this 
subject  in  the  other  house,  the  committee  made  a  report,  the  subject 
was  examinee),  ajid  amply  discussed,  and  they  passed  a  bill  in  substance 
similar  to  the  one  on  your  table.  The  same  subject  was  referred  to  the 
Judiciary  Committee  of-  this  body,  who  conciirred  in  a  similar  report ; 
and  after  the  bill  from  the  other  house  was  brought  here,  it  was  referred 
to  them,  and  they  reported  it,  with  an  amendment,  which  is  not  calcu- 
lated to  change  very  materially  the  principles  of  the  bill.  Every  gentle- 
man has  matured  his  judgment  on  this  subject,  and,  if  he  does  not  like 
the  present  proposition,  let  him  give  us  his  system  in  its  stead.  But  no^w 
the  worthy  gentleman  frdm  New  Hampshire  comes  forward  with  a  general 
proposition  to  refer  the  bill 'to  the  Jyidiciary  Committee,  to  see  whether 
they  cannot  contrive,  in  some  way'  or  other,  to  relieve  our  local  distress 
and  inconvenience,  without  adding  any  member  to  the  Saipreme  Court. 
I  put  it  to  the  gentleman  himself,  and  to  every  member  of  the  Senate, 
whether,  if  they  have  solid  objections  to  this  bill,  if  they  are  able  to 
digest  a  system  which  they  think  better  suited  to  put  us  on  an  equality 
with  the  rest  of  the  Union ;  whether  they  do  not  owe  it  to  their  own 
justice,  to  their  own  character,  to  their  own  high  standing,  to  have 
brought  for-ward  a  distinct  proposition,  containing  another  system  that 
would  have  placed  us  in  a  similar  condition  with  the  other  States  of  the 
Union?  It  is  very  easy  to  raise  objections;  but  ydu  can  never  test  the 
merits  of  this  bill,  compared  with  any  other  plan,  until  you  have  the 
other  in  detail  likewise.  Suppose  sir,  that  a  majority  of  this  Senate 
oiiould  believe  that  tlie  number  of  judges  ouglit  to  be  seven,  And  -they 
send  it  back  to  the  committee  to  find  out  how  the  United  States  are  to 


JUDICIARY    APPORTIONMENT.  59 

be  divided  -into  seven  cirenits  ;  they  tryit  every  way.  They  cannot  fix 
on  any  phm  tliat  is  not  liable  to  strotiger  objections  than  the  present  bill 
— what  then?  Are  Ave  to' have  no  rehef ?  If  the  gontlonian  who  made 
this  proposition  had  given  us  something  like  a  detailed  plan  for  his  seven 
judges,  and  compared  that  plan  with  this,  then  there  wouM  have  been 
sometliing  to  test  the  principle  he  has  so  ably  advocated  on  this  occasion. 
It  is  a  principle  which  seems  i)lausible  within  itself;  but  when  you  come 
to  detail  it,  to  redjiice  it  to' practical  operation,  it  is  found  to  begone  which, 
when  compared  to  the  situation  of  the  United  States,  cannot  be  used.  I 
think  we  have  cause  to  complain  when  we  find  that,  after  tins  matter  has 
been  postponed  for  eight  or  ten  years,  and  the  lapse  of  ti>ue  wliich  has 
taken  place  during  the  present  session,  those  who  are  opposed  to  it  say 
they  are  disposed  to  do  what  is  just  towards  us,  but  find  fault  without 
6«braitting  any  plan  which  miglrt  keep  up  hopes  that  we  are  not  to  be 
always  in  the  situation  in  which  we  are  now  phiced. 

The  gentleman  from  Rhode  Island  I  understand  exactly.  lie  wishes  to 
get  back  to  the  good  old  system  of  1801,  because  he  thinks  it  is  ^better 
than  any  other  which  can  be  devised.  I  do  not  intend  for  him  anything 
which  I  say  upon  the  subject  of  unkinduess,  they  are  ajl  intended  for  the 
gentleman  from  New  Hampshire,  who  sends  us  so  many  good  wishes,  of 
which  I  wish  to  see  the  fr'uits. 

As  to  the  .circuit  court  part  of  the  system,  every  one  must  be  satis- 
fied that  we  are  not  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  other  States.  Increase, 
then,  the  number  of  judges  to  such  an  extent  as  to  enable  us,  with  rea- 
sonable circuits,  to  have  the  services,  of  some  one  or.  other  of  the  judges 
of  th6  Supreme  Court.  This  is  the  remedy,  and  then  shall  we  be  on  an 
equal  footing  with  the  others.  Let  no  gentleman  object  to  this  system 
because  we  cannot  furnish  good  materials  for  judges;  if  they  cannot  be 
found  in  that,  pai't  of  ?the  country,  we  will  receive,  thi^nkfully,  the  addi- 
tion of  talent  frofti  any  quarter  of  the  Union.  That  luminary  which  gives 
us  liglit  rises  in  the  East  and  passes  to  the  West.  I  suppose  it  is  the 
same  with  genius  and  talent:  let  us  then  go  to  the  morning,  and  draw 
from  the  fountain-head  of  talent  as  much  as  will  answer  the  wants  of  the 
"West,  and  give  us  tlie  benefit  of  it.  I  wish  justice  administered.  I  in- 
dulge in  no  prejudices.  From  the  East  they  have  sent  us  out  those  who 
have  made  us  valuable  officers,  whom  I  should  be  sorry  to  part  with.  I 
wish  them  to  remain  with  us  as  citizens  of  our  State,  and  if  the  present 
system  should  be  adopted,  the  President  shoxild  see  fit^to  find'  the  ma- 
terials to  fill  the  offices  in  the  East,  let  him  make  the  experiment,  and  if 
ft  turns  out  that  they  are  qualified,  I  shall  never  be  disposed  to  be  very 
clamorous  on  that  subject. 

The  gentlemen  fi-om  Rhode  Island  and  New  Hampshire  seem  to 
think,  that  on  this  system,  if  it  should  pass,  no  benefit  to  us  can  result  as 
to  an  increase  of  knowledge  of  local  laAvs  on  the  bench  of  the  Supreme 


60  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

Court.  In  this  I  disagree  with  the  gentlemen.  Take  a  mfin  from  Rhode 
Island,  and  I  think  it  likely  he  is  as  ignorant  of  the  laws  of  Tennessee  as 
I  am  of  those  of  Ehode  Island ;  place  him  on  the  Supreme  Court  bench, 
and  let  him  be  compelled  to  hold  our' circuit  court?,  aad  reside'  among' 
us,  and  I  think  that  in  the  course  of  one  year  he  wiU  be  better  qualified 
to  decide  our  causes  than  any  judgein  the  Supreme  Court  in  the  present 
organization  will  be  in  forty  years.  He  sets  out  ignorant  .of  our  local 
laws--— but  ^e  is  acquainted  -v^ith  his  own  profession ;  he  is  associated  at 
once  with  tlie  district  judge,  who  is  intimately,  acquainted  with  the  local 
laws ;  he  meets  with  that  Avhich  he  never  met  Avith  in  the  Supreme 
Court ;  he  meets  "with  the  most  intelligent  of  tlie  profession  in  that  county 
where  he  gotfs  to  do  business.  They  have  their  own  materials,  their  own 
books;  they  have  had  leisure  to  make  preparations  for  every  cause;  they 
have  looked  into  every  act  of  Assembly  whi«h  relates  to  the  subject, 
into  every  record,  into  every  case  found  which  has  any  relation  to  the 
subject,  and  this  judge,  so  called  on  to  dispense  justice,  after  he  has 
heard-the  arguments  on  both  sides,  and  has  conferred  with  the  district, 
judge,  will  be  very  likely  to  decide  correctly  even  in  the  first  instance — 
for  six  weeks  or  two  months  his  court  may  continue — daily,  causes 
depending  on  the  local  laws  are  under  discussion-  his  leisure  moments 
are  spent  in  conversation  relative  to  those  local  laws  ;  at  the  end 
of  his  first  term  will  he  not  have  acquired  more  knowledge  of  the 
local  laws  than  on  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court,during  liis  lifp?  In 
the  Supreme  Court  one  cause,  depending  on  those  local  lawsi,  may  be 
argued  dm'ing  a  term,  without  the  necessary  books,  without  much  pre- 
paration, by  tliose  ill  informed  of  those  laws;  it  is  decided:  and  perhaps 
for  twelve  months  no  other  cause,  depending  on  those  same  laws,  comes 
before  the  court.  The  subject  is  then  taken  Tip  as  a  new  one ;  and  thu^ 
he  may  go  on  from  ye-ar  to  year,  without  any  improvement  in  d  knoAv- 
ledge  of  local  law.  Take  a  man  of  good  natural  capacity— ^a  scientific, 
well-bi'ed  lawyer,  compel  him' to  reside  in  the  circuit;  he  immediately 
acquires  a  knowledge  of  the  local  laws  of  tlie  States  in  his  circuit  because 
he  must  continue  hiiSmind  upon  a  succession  of  similar  causes,  until  he 
has  disposed  of  perhaps  fifty  or  one  hundred  without  having_it  distracted 
by  an  attention  to  any  other.  He  soon  acquires  a  knowledge  of  the  laws 
as  a  system-,  which  is  not  to  be  forgotten.  But  upon  the  bench  of  the 
Snprene  Court,  he  has  no  such  advantage ;  and  it  would  be  strange  if 
he  did  not  go  off  almost  as  ignorant  of  local  laws  ae  he  came  on  it. 

Now,  whether  it  be  seven  or  ten,  or  of  whatever  number  it  may  be,  I 
insist  that  it  is  a  valuable  feature  in  our  system,  and  one  that  I  would 
not  part  with  any  more  than  I  would  with  tliat  most  valuable  political 
privilege,  of  trial  by  jurj^;  that  the  man  who  is  ultimately  to  decide  -the 
caiisemustbe  in  a  situation  to  have^  a  reasonable  opportunity  of  becoming 
acquainted  with  the  laws  that  are  to  form  tl^  ground  of  that  decision. 


JITDICIARY    APPORTIONMENT.  61 

Says,  the  gjentlcman,  by  what  mj'stery  is  it  that  you  are  going  to  coniinn- 
nicate  the  infoniiation  which  that  one  judge  has  obtained,  to  the  other 
nine?  The  moment  a  cause  is  brought  into  the  Supreme  Court,  instead 
of  their  having  to  grope  About  without  knowing  liow,  or  .where  to  find  tlie 
necessary  statutes  and  authorities,  tliey  make  common  stock  of  all  the 
knowledge  they  have  acquii-ed,  and  the  judge  who  has  made  himself 
acquainted  with  the  local  laws,  applicable  to  the  case  in  question,  brings 
to  their  view  at  once,  not  only  the  statutes,  but  all  the  authorities  he  has 
had  access  to,  in  relation  to  the  same  question,  and  wh^n  these  materials 
are  spread  before  them,  then,  sir,  they  are  prepared  to  come  to  a  correct 
determination.  There  is  no  mystery  in  this  ?  Each  is  not  to  lock  u'p 
within  his  own  iH-east  all  the  information  he  has  acquired  upon  legal 
subjects,  and  let  his  brethren  be  groping  about  in  darkhess.  They  talk 
freely  on  legal  subjects  amongst  themselves,  they  make  joint-stock  of 
their  knowledge,  they  ^apply  their  natui-al  talents,  and  then,  sir,  they 
bring  out  such  a  result  as  tliey  think  will  be  accoiMling  to  the  justice  and 
law  of  the  case.  The  moment  you  give  me  one  judge  on  the  bench  of  the 
Supreme  Court  that  has  a  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  the  country  in  which 
I  Uve,  the  Supreme  Court  is  placed  in  a  situation  that  it  can  dispense 
justice  between  man  and  man  in  Tennessee ;  but  till  that  is  done,  it  is  as 
much  a  matter  of  i^ccident,  as  anything  else,  that  justice  should  be  don^, 
I  have  no  complaint  to  make  against  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
nor  have  I  any  eulogies  to  pronounce  on  them.  In  some  causes  that  have 
come  froyi  Tennessee  to  the  Supreme  Court,  I  think  their  decisions  erro- 
neous; I  have  the,  same- opinion  as  it  relates  to  some  other  States.  But  in 
the  situation  in  which  they  have  been  placed,  I  am  surprised  they  have 
not  been  oftener  wrong.  It  is  the  lot  of  human  beings  to  err  when  they 
have  the  best  means  of  information,  and  it  would  be  strange  if  they  did 
not  err,  when  you  compel  them  to  act  without  the  necessary  means  of 
information.  There  was  one  case  in  which  their  deci-sion  was  in  opposi- 
tion to  all  the  decisions  of  tlie  State  Courts,  in  which  they  applied  old 
principles  that  were  inapplicable  to  our  local  laws,  and  thereby  reversed 
the  decision  of  the  district  judge  doing  duty  as  a  circuit  judge,  and  sent 
the  cause  back  to  be  retried;  upon  the  second  trial,  a  more  enlarged 
view  of  the  case  was  given  in  a  bill  of  exceptions,  and  the  causfe  again 
brought  to  the  Supreihe  Court,  and  they  a  second  time  revei-sed  the 
judgment  of  the  cii'cuit  court,  and  took  great  pains  to  explain  away 
what  seemed  to  be  the  ground  of  the  first  decision,  thereby  usfng  their 
endeavors  to  ward  off  the  mischief  likely  to  flow  from  the  first  opinion. 
I  mention  these  things,  not  as  a  ground  on  which  to  censure  any  man 
who  is  on  that  bench ;  I  have  -as  much  confidence  in  them  as  any  man 
who  has  no  more  acquaintance  With  them,  and  who  is  as  Kttle  capable  of 
forming  opinions  relative  to  their  decisions.  Still,  I  am  constrained  to 
beUeve,  that  not  only  in  the  case  alluded  to,  but  in  some  others,  they 


62  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    "WHITE. 

have  not  correctly  expounded  our  municipal  laws,  and  that  mischiefs 
have  been  produced ;  and  that  more  must  inevitably  be  produced,  if  that 
coijrt  is  not  placed  on  a  different  footing  from  that  on  which  it  now 
stands. 

Had  we  not  better  pass  the  bill  on  the  table,  than  throw  everything  into 
a  state  of  confusion  by  the  reference?  Had  we  not  better  refuse  the 
gentleman's  proposition?  If  you  agree  to  it,  when  is  there  to  be  an  end? 
The  gentleman  from  New  Yprk  stated  that  there  were  grievances  ^  under 
which  we  labored,  but  that  he  did  not  deem  them  to  be  so  great  as  to 
justify  all  the  clamor  that  had  been  raised  in  that  part  of  the  country.  I; 
think  he  has  not  yet  got  tq  the  bottom  of  our  grievanees,  unless — 

[Mr.  Van  Buren  rose  to  explain ;  he  had  stated  on  the  part  of 
Tennessee,  that  there  had  been  no  complaint— their  memorials  were 
such  as  they  ought  to  have  been — they  stated  their  grievances  fairly  and 
fuUy,  and  left  it  to-the  wisdom  of  Congress  to  apply  tlie  remedy.  But  he 
had  stated  that  complaints  had  been  made  elsewhere.] 

Mr.  White  resumed.  I  am  very  glad  to  receive  the  explanation.  It 
gave  me  pain  to  think  our  complaints  shouM  be  censured  from  so  respect- 
able a  quarter,  and  I  am  relieved  to  find  I  misunderstood  the  gentleman. . 
By  the  bill  upon  your  table,  we  can  be  relieved ;  without  some  change, 
the  causes  of  complaint  must  continue.  The  gentleman  fi'om  New  Hampr 
shire  finds  fault  with  the  bill,  and  chalks  out  no  phm.  The  gentleman 
from  Rhode  Island  excepts  to  the  bill,  and  refers  to  a  substitute.  What 
Is  his  remedy?  He  wishes  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  to  form  an 
appellate  court,  and  to  be  relieved  from  all  circuit  duties,  and  to  have  a. 
separate  set  of  judges,  called  circuit  judges,  to  try  all  causes  in  the 
respective  circuits,  indeed,  sir,  I  should  think  (to  use  his  own  language) 
be  would  give  us  a  remedy  wors.e  than  the  disease,  and  I  believe  that  no 
man  that  has  reftected  well  on  .this  subject,  and  is  a  friend  to  tlie  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  will  ever  put  its  high  character  in  jeopardy 
by  any  such  system.  -  As  an  American  I  am  proud  of  the  character  it 
now  sustains.  It  is  not  only  a  blessing  upon  the  whole  to  the  nation,  but 
some  of  its  members  are  a  credit  to  the  age  in  which  w^e  live.  And  how 
did  they  become  so?  Not  by  being  shut  up  in  Washington,  in  New 
York,  or  in  Rhode  Island,  but  by  letting  them  have  a  fair  opportunity  to 
become  acquainted^ot  only  with  those  things  which  are  to  be  got  out  of 
books,  but. with  those  things  which  are  going  on  in  tliat  society  of  which 
they  are  menibers.  Let  me  not  be  told  that  I  wish  to  send  the  judges 
out  popularity  hunting — to  drink  a  dram  with  this  ignorant  man,  or  to 
take  his  breakfast  with  another ;  but  I  say,  send  the  judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  to  administei*  and  dispense  justice  in  the  respective  States  in  the 
presence  of  the  citizens  of  those  States,  of  the  counsel  that  attend  the  bar 
and  the  jury ;  let  them  hear  the  witnesses  that  depose  as  to  the  factfi  of 
the  ca=" 


JUDICLiRY    APPORTIONMENT.  63 

While  the  judge  in  his  circuit  dispenses  justice,  he  watches,  with  all 
possihle  care,  the  conduct  of  the  counsel,  tlie  course  of  the  testiinony,  and 
sees  its  practical  application  to  the  particular  transactions  of  men ;  at  the 
same  time  that  he  is  dispensing  justice,  he  is  keepings  up.  an  essential  part 
of  his  education ;  he  is  keeping  up  his  personal  knowledge  of  human 
aature,  he  sees-its  workings  as  it  is; — and  of  all  the  places  on  earth  where  a 
man  can  be  placed  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  hmiian  nature,  the"" best  is  a 
court  of  justice,  when  the  jury  is  to  decide  a  matter  of  fact,  and  misa  voce 
testiinony  is  given,  to  inform  them  on  it.  Put  the  question  down  in  the 
most  careful  state  you  can,  in  a  bill  of  exceptions,  and  an  appellate  court 
never  can  have  the  same  impression  made,  on  their  minds,  that  they 
Avonld  have  bad,  if  they  had  seen  and  heard  the  same  testimony  delivered 
to  a  jury.  Do  you  believe  there  would  have  "been  the  improvement  there 
has  been  in  the  doctrine  of  evidence  during  the  last  hundred  years,  if 
those  who  established  these  rules  had  possessed  no  practical  knowledge 
acquired  at  nisi prhis  or  elsewhere?  How  long  is  it  since  the  distinction 
•Las  been  drawn  between  a  competent  and  a  credible  witness  I  But  lock 
these  judges  up  in  Westminster  Hall,  or  in  Rhode  Island,  or  in  New 
York,  or  Washington,  and  you  take  them  from  the  source  of  information, 
and-  what  becomes  of  theni?  If  I  wished  to  lessen  their  standing  in 
society,  and  to  destroy  public  confidence  in  them,  to  put  them  in  such  a 
situation  that,  instead  of  doing  justice  between  man  and  man,  they 
shoirid  become  a  curse  to  the  country,  I  would  adopt  the  system  recom- 
mended by  the  gentleman  from  Rhode  Island.      •  ■>    •  *■•     .*v 

Again  sir:    it  is  a  great  abject  in  the  administration  of  justice,  to 
keep  mankind  satisfied.     If  I  could  spare  the  property,  I  would  almost 
as  soon  lose  a  portion  of  mine,  by  the  decision  of  a  man  in  whom  I  had 
entire  confidence,  as  to  -gain  by  the  judgment  of  one  that  I  believed 
decided  in  ray  favor,  he  thinking  that  his  own  decision  was  wrong; 
because  in  such  case,  I  would  feel  that  neitlier  my  person  or  property 
was  safe.     Take  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  from  all  circuit  duties, 
and  you  make  theni  strangers  to  society;'  they  will  have  no  acquaintance 
with  any  portion  of  the -profession,  excfept  the  very  few  who  may  prac- 
tice at  their  bar ;  let  them  then  decide  some  favorite  statute  of  some  of 
your  large  sovereign  States  to  be  unconstitutional,  and  it  will  be  found 
that  they  have  not  enough  of  character  to  sustain  them.     But  keep  each 
of  them  in  the  discharge  of  circuit  duties,  and  they  are  all  forced  into 
society;  in  their  respective  circuits,- they  become  personally  and  inti- 
mately known  to  most  of  the  respectable  men  in  those  circuits ;  to  clerks, 
marshals,  jurors,   witnesses,    lawyers,    bystanders,    and    if   they  have 
integrity  and  talents  to  fit  them  for  their  high  station,  it  becomes  known, 
and  felt  by  the  mass  of  society;  who  are -witnesses  of  their  usefulness: 
then  let  them  decide  such  a  statute  to  be  unconstitutional  (and  so  they 
ought  to  do,  if  such  be  the  fact),  and  then  see  how  well  public  opinion 


64  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSOIif    WHITE. 

■will  sustain  them.  The  moment  the  decision  is  complained  of,  the 
inquiry  by  every  man  will  be,  did  the  judge  with  whom  I  am  acquainted, 
concur  in  that  decision?  and  if  answered  in  the  affirmative,  he  will 
immediately  say,  the  decision  must  be  right,  he  is  honest  and  enlight- 
ened, and  would  not  have  concurred  unless  the  judgment  was  correct. 

Again,  you  put  a  man  of  middle  life  upon  the  Bench  well  qualified 
for  his  station;  make  the  court  stationary;  ta,ke  from  the  judge  all 
circuit  duties :  and,  if  he  live  to  reasonable  age,  he  will  most  probably 
die  unqualified  for  his  office.  How  wiU  the  judges  fill  up  the  interval^ 
of  time  between  the  sessions  of  the  Supreme  Court  ?  It  is  answered  by; 
reading.  I  put  it  to  every  practical,  well-informed  lawyer  to  say, 
wheth6r  it  would  not  be  more  profitably  employed  in  holding  circuit 
courts.  Take  any  one  legal  subject,  and  let  the  judge  be  in  search  of 
information  upon  it,  and,!  say  he  will,  in  my  opinion,  acquire  more  by 
hearing-  arguments  upon  it,  for  one  day  in  the  week,  than  he  will  by 
reading  the  wTiole  week ;  and  that  ■vthich  he  has-  thus  acquired,  will 
remain  with  him  for  life. 

Again.  Take  fi-om  them  circuit  duties,  and  a  main  stimulus  to 
ex-ertion  is  destroyed ;  the  mind  is,'  for  a  considerable  portion  of  life, 
improved  by  use,  one  exertion  prepares  it  for  another,  and  by  repeated 
efforts,  it  acquires  a  vigor  and  force  not  to  be  otherwise  acquired. 
Make  the  judges  stationary,  and  they  will  soon  content  themselves  with 
moderate  labox'S,  their  reading  will  be  alone ;  none  to  help  them  to  com- 
pare and  examine  ideas  collected  from  books,  they  will  have  no  precise 
object  in  view :  but  keep  them  to  the  circuits,  and  then  they  Avill  have 
eveiy  inducement  to  exertion  ;  their  conduct  will  be  in  the  view  of  the 
world ;  the  causes  openly  argued ;  the  opinions  of  the  judge  are  formed 
for  present  use,  must  be  accompanied  by  Ijis'reaspns  to  support  them, 
delivered  in  presence  of  j-ury,  witnesses,  parties,  counsel,  and  by- 
standers ;  if  wrong,  he  will  be  called  upon  to  re-examine  them  on  motion 
for  a  new  trial,  when  their  eri-ors  will  be  openly  exposed,  and  refuted. 
Be  will  therefore,  have  every  inducement  to  continued  and  unremitted 
exertion;  and  this  exertion  will  daily  increase  his  capacity  for  use- 
fulness. 

On  the  plan  proposed  by  this  bill,  you  make  the  judges  men  of 
vigorous  minds,  well  stored  with  useful  knowledge,  capable  of  forming 
and  continually,  not  only  forming,  but  actually  expressing  opinions  for 
themselves. 

On  that  proposed  by  the  gentleman  from  Ehode  Island,  you  Avill  soon 
have  your  judges,  bookworms,  if  you  choose,  without  any  practical 
knowledge ;  their  minds  enervated  for  want  of  use,  neither  habituated  to 
form,  nor  to  express  opinions  for  themselves,  acting  seldom  or  never  on 
individiial  responsibility ;  always  in  the  presence  only  of  the  compara- 
tively few,  who  may  be  attendant  on  the  Supreme  Court,    By  this  plan, 


JUDICIARY    APPORTIOITIMENT.  65 

they  will  soon  lose  that  manly  independence  so  beneficial  to  society,  and 
become  mere  drivellers,  drones,  ready  to  lean  npon  any  associate, 
ambitious  of  distinction,  and  admirably  fitted  for  any  unworthy  purposes 
to  which  a  designing  Executive  may  wish  to  apply  them. 

It  is  said  that  another  miafortufte  from  the  proposed  plan  will  be, 
that  it  will  add  to  the  existing  grievance  in  the  Supreme  Court — delay. 
At  the  first  view,  tliere  certainly  appeared  something  very  plausible  in' 
this  objectioti ;  but,  npon  mature  consideration,  I  think  the  business 
will  rather  be  expedited  by  this  additional  number  of  justices,  than 
otherwise. 

How  is  the  delay  to  be  increased  ?  Beoanse^  say  gentlemen,  each 
judge  must  make  himself  acquainted  with  the  contents  of  the  record, 
and  it  will  take  t6n  men  longep-to  do  so  than  seven. 

This  difficulty  is'  in  a  good  degree  removed,  if  we  suppose  the  judges 
will  make  such  arrangement  as  that  one  shall  read  the  record,  and  the 
other  nine  listen  to  him  while  reading  it;  npon  this  plan,  ten  .will 
become  acquainted  with  its  contents  in  as  short  a  tim'e  as  seven.  But 
suppose  some  delay  to  be  occasioned  from  this  cause,  it  is  more  than 
counterbalanced  by  positive  advantages  by  an  increase  of  the  number  of 
judges.  . 

Have  ten  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  performing  the  duties  of  cir- 
cuit judges,  and  ycni  bring  to  the  Bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  a  short 
time,  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  municipal  laws  of  the  respective 
States ;  when  one  of  tliose  causes  depending  for  its  decision  upon  any 
of  those  localjaws  shall  be  brought  into  the  Supreme  Court,  tlie  court 
will  at  once  be  able  ta  refer  to  all  the  statutes  and  decisions  which  ought 
to  govern  their  judgment ;  when  as  now  they  are  frequently  at  a  loss  to 
procure  either  the  one  or  the  other ;  and  it  consumes  much  time  and 
requires  great  labor  to  procure  those  materials,  from  which,  alone,  a 
coi-i-ect  opinion  can  be  formed  ;  and  often  it  must  happen,  that  decisions 
are  given  withont  the  benefit  of  all  the  information  from  these  sources 
which  they  ought  to  have. 

Suppose  a  case  to  be  decided  upon  the  local  laws  of  a  State,  and  the 
State  desirous  to  have  fixed  the  construction  of  ft  doubtful  statute  ;  but, 
no  book  of  reports  containing  those  decisions  to  exist — how  can  the 
Supreme  Court  acquire  the  necessary  information?  Only  through  the 
industrj^  and  research  of  the  counsel  employed.  They  may  and  often 
Avill  report  them  difl:erently,  -and  leave  the  court  in  great  doubt.  But^ 
pass  this  bill,  and  one  at  least  of  the  members  of  the  Supreme  Court  will, 
on  his  circuit,  have  acquired  a  knowledge  of  those  decisions,  and  can 
give  correct  information  to  his  brethren. 

But,  sir,  it  has  been  urged  that  by  increa^ng  the  number  of  judges, 
you  increase  the  number  of  causes  in  the  Supreme  Court,  and  of  course 
must  delay  the  decisions  there.     To  this  argument  I  answer,  first,  it  is 

5 


6^  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    "WHITE. 

not  likely  the  fact  will  turn  out  to  be  as  supposed  :  in  all  suits  exceeding 
the  value  of  two  thousand  dollars  Avi-its  of  error  can  now  be  brought ;  if 
a  judge  of  the  Supreme  'Court  is  associated  with  the  district  judge  on 
the  trial  below,  and  they  concur-in  opinion,  most  frequently  both  parties 
will  be  satisfied,  and  no  writ  of  error  will  be  brought ;  whereas  now, 
when  the  causes  are  decided  below,  by  one  man,  and  he  a  district  judge, 
■writs  of  error  will  be  almost  invariably  brought  if  there  is  the  least  room 
for  a  doubt.  It  is  therefore  most  probable  the  number  of  wi'its  of  error 
will  be  diminished  in  all  those  cases  to  which  I  have  alluded. 

But  it  is  said  now,  no  criminal  case  can  be  brought  to  the  Supreme 
Court,  nor  can  any  civil  one,  when  the  matter  in  dispute  is  of  less  value 
thafl,  two  thousand  dollars ;  because  a^-  the  decisions  will  be  by  the  dis- 
trict judge  alone,  there  can  be  no-certificate  of  a  division  of  opinion,  by 
which  means  only  such  cases  can  be  brought  to  the  Supreme  Court. 

I  must  regret  that  such  an  argument  should  be  used  to  defeat  this  bill. 
It  conforms  to  the  rule  by  which  tyrants  govern.  The  substance  of  it  is, 
that  it  is  better  that  a  man  in  one  of  those  nine  Western  States,  should  be 
hanged  or  lose  his  property  by  the  erroneous  decision  of  the  single  judge, 
than  that  a  suitor  from  any  other  of  thefifteen States  should  have  his  suit 
delayed  in  the  Supreme  Conrt,'  by  increasing  the  number  of  causes  upon 
its  docket.  , 

This  argument  cannot  be  tolerated ;  all  are  to  be  equally  obedient 
to  the  same  laws ;  all  must  be  protected  by  them.  The  main  object 
of  government,  and  one  of  its  fk-st  duties  is,  to  protect  the  iimocent  at 
the  same  time  that- it  punishes  the  guilty.  The  citizens  of  one  State 
are  not  to  be  unjustly  punished,  that  those  of  another  may  have  a 
speedy  revision  of  their  causes  in  the  Supreme  Court.  The  citizens  of 
each  are  entitled  to  -the  same  measure  of  justice,  and  an  equal  chance  for 
a  correct  administration  of  it  must  be  furnished  to  all.  Will  it  be  allowed 
that  a  citizen  of  Tennessee  must  submit  to  injustice,  for  no  better  reason 
than  to  enable  a  citizen  of  New  York,  or  Ehode  Island,  to  have  his  cause 
Bpeedily  decided  in  tl>e  Supreme  Court  ?     It  is  hoped  not. 

Something  was  said  about  the  weight  of  population,  and  that  the 
proposed  bill  would  give  to  the  West  more  judges  than  their  relative 
numbers  would  entitle  them  to. 

Mr.  President,  I  have  not  felt,  the  force  of  any  argument  used  upon  this 
point.  Before  the  judicial  system  of  the  United  States  is  extended,  there 
must  be  States,  those  States  must  have  citizens  living  in  them  ;  and  those 
citizens  must  have  suits,  or  a  reasonable  prospect  for  suits  of  Federal 
jurisdiction  to  be  decided,  and  whenever  these  tilings  occur,  your  sys- 
tem, applicable  to  the  other  States,  ought  to  be  extended  to  embrace  them. 

Take  a  State  composed  of  a  number  of  counties,  some  of  them  thickly 
populated,  others  with  a  population  more  sparse^  what  would  be  thought 
of  a  legislature  which,  in  devising  a  judicial  system,  Avould  make  one  sjs- 


JUDICIARY    APPORTIONMENT.  67 

tem  for  those  counties  of  dense,  another  for  those  of  thin  population  ? 
Would  they  act  wisely  or  justly  when  they  directed  the  courts  in  counties 
thinly  settled,  to  be  held  by  a  single  justice  of  tlie  peace  whose  decision 
should  hQ  final ;  and  the  courts  in  the  counties  thickly  settled,  to  be 
holden  by  a  justice  of  the  peace  and  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court ;  and 
that  in  all  cases  where  they  disagreed,  no  judgment  should  be  entered 
until  a  Supreme  Court,  composed  of  seven  men  should  be  consulted  ?  All 
would  concur,  in  pronouncing  such  a  course  unwise  and  unjust ;  yet  the 
very  argument  now  used  goes  to  justify  such  a  system. 

Upon  this  branch  of  the  subject  I  hope  it  will  be  seen  that,  if  this  bill 
passes,  the  confidence  reposed  in  the  decisions  of  the  circuit  courts,  will 
tend  to  diminish  rather  than  increase  appeals ;  that  the  increased  know- 
ledge of  local  laws  on  the  Supreme  Bench  will  facilitate  the  decisions 
there,  in  place  of  delaying  them  ;  but  that,  if  some  delay  should  be  pro- 
duced, it  is  tar  better  that  should  b&  submitted  to,  than  that  nine  States 
should  be  compelled  to  live  under  a  judicial  system  less  favorable  to  the 
administration  of  justice  than  that  which  is  afforded  to  the  other  fifteen. 

There  is  another  point  of  view  in  which  this  matter  ought  to  be  con- 
sidered, when  we  are  considering  and  comparing  the  utility  of  the  bill 
upon  your  table,  with  the  system  of  1801,  which  the  gentleman  from 
Rhode  Island  desi^-es  to  re-establish,  as  a  substitute  for  it.i 

That  which  this  bill  proposes  is  a'mere  extension  of  the  judicial  system, 
as  it  now  exists,. and  has  existed  in  fifteen  of  the  States  for  many  years. 
Its  utility  has  been  tested  by  espei'ience,  and  its  provisions  have  been 
generally  approved.  If  the  bill  passes,  no  change  even  in  the  nine  States, 
will  be  affected  by  which  society  can  be  disturbed ;  the  courts  will  sit 
at  the  same  time  in  the  respective  circuits;  the  business  will  be  ponducted 
upon  the  same  plan  heretofore  adopted ;  the  only  sensible  alteration  will 
be  that,  instead  of  one  man  upon  the  bench  when  the  courts  sit,  there 
wHl  be  two.  "We  are  creatures  of  habit,  and  any  radical  change  in  a 
judicial  system,  by  Avhich  the  settled  habits  of  the  people  are  disturbed, 
or  changed,  is  not  likely  to  succeed,  even  if  the  new  would,  in  the  end, 
be  better  than  the  old ;  it  is  not  likely  that  the  new  will  be  tolerated  long 
enough  to  give  it  a  fair  experiment,  unless  the  old  has  been  found  glar- 
ingly defective.  In  this  instance  this  is  not  the  case — the  old  has  been 
tested  and  approved,  and  if  now  changed,  as  the  gentleman  wishes,  the 
people  will  compel  us  to  change  lack  to  that  which  this  bill  proposes. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  system  of  1801  did  not  go  into  operation,  it 
was  unpopular  on  account  of  tltose  who  proposed  and  adopted  it,  and  there- 
fore, put  down  without  a  fair  experiment.  Be  it  so ;  and  it  is  a  proof  of 
tlie  correctness  of  my  argument.  The  old  system,  that  which  we  wish 
now  to  extend,  had  been  adopted  in  1789 ;  its  utility  had  been  proved; 
without  necessity  a  new  experiment  was  made  by  the  act  of  1801,  not 
called  for  by  any  existing  grievance ;  the  people  would  not  submit  to  it ; 


081  MEMOm    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

they  put  it  doTvn,  and  with  it,  or  rather  before  it,  those  who  had  brought 
it  into  existence.  You  now  wish  to  re-instate  that  system  to  relieve  the 
West.  .  From  that  very  quarter  came  the  attack  upon  it.  it  was  com- 
menced by  Breokenridge,  of  Kentucky,,  and  it  was  repealed.  It  is  a  mis- 
take to  suppose  it  never  went  into  operation ;  we  had  the  circuit  system 
in  operation,  for  a  short  time,  both  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  the  only 
two  Western  States  then  in  existence.  No  time  was  lost  in  putting  it  in 
operation  anywhere,  and  but  little  lost  in  comraencing  the  struggle  by 
which  it  was  put  down,  and  that  of  1789  re-instated.  Let  us  not  repeat 
the  experiment.  We  need  not  flatter  ourselves  it  will  be  better  received 
now  than  it  was,  then.  The  system  then  approved,  is  that  which  is  still 
approved;  pass  this  bill,  and  thereby  extend  its  benefits  to  the  nine 
Western  States.  By  this  means  you  wiU  keep  the  people  happy  and  con- 
tented :  but,  disturb  their  settled  habits,  uselessly  make  the  radical 
change  which  gentlemen  desire,  and  a  struggle  is  again  commenced, 
which  will  produce  great  discontent,  and  end  in  the  overthrow  of  the 
new  system  and  the  re-e^ablishment  of  that  which  is  now  knoAvn  and 
approved. 

The  alteration  effected  by  this  bill  will  be,  that  the  Supreme  Court 
will  be  composed  of  ten  in  place  of  seven.  Gentlemen  say  they  would 
rather  reduce,  than  increase  the  number  ofgudges — six,  say  they;  and 
then,  as  circumstances  will  permit,  until  the  numbei*  which  composes  it 
shall  be  only  four.  Seven  is  the  favorite  number  in  religious  matters,  and 
four  in  legal  matters,  according  to  the  opinion, of  gentlemen  on  the  other 
side.  And  why  fix  upon  the  number  of  four?  Because,  in  Great 
Britain,  four  is  the  number  which  comprises  their  highest  courts. 

Mr.  President,  we  have  borrowed  many  of  our  most  valuable  ideas  upon 
legal  subjects  from  Great  Britain ;  but  care  must  be  taken  not  to  copy 
too  far.  That  country  is  of  small  extent,  an  island;  a  judge  in  any  one 
part  of  it  has  it  perfectly  in  hi,s  power  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the 
general  laws  applicable  to  the  wholcj  and  also  of  the  particular  customs 
applicable  to  any  particular  part.  That  is  not  our  situation  in  the  United 
States — our  country  is  of  immense  extent;  even  judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court  ought  to  be  well  acquainted  with  the  general  laws  of  nations ; 
your  conventional  laws ;  with  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United 
States,  and  with  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  twenty-four  distinct  and 
independent  States,  varying  from  each  other  in  many  important  particu- 
lars. The  same  system  which  has  been  found  well  adapted  to  the  one 
country,  may  be  entirely  unsuited  to  the  other.  Four  judges  would  be 
more  likely  to  bring  all  necessary  legal  knowledge  into  the  Court  of  King's 
Bench,  in  England,  than  ten  will  be  to  bring  all  the  legal  knowledge 
necessary  to  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court:  The  situation  and  circum- 
stances of  our  own  country  must  be  carefully  attended  to,  othenvise  we 
shall  do  great  mischief  by  borrowing  from  others,  and  adopting  systems 


JUDICIARY    APPORTIONMENT.  69 

not  suited  to  the  extent  of  our  territory,  to  the  circumstances,  and 
situation,  and  habits  of  our  citizens,  nor  to  the  various  and  multiplied 
peculiarities  in  our  Federal  and  State  laws.  From  no  country  upon  earth 
can  we  expect  a  model  which  will  suit  us  for  a  judiciary.  Our  country, 
aud  evevything  in  it,  is  upon  a  more  extended  scale ;  and  o«i'  judiciary 
must  be  adapted  to  our  own  situation  and  circumstances.  The  politician, 
who  will  be  useful  in  the  United  States,  must  permit  his  mind  to  com- 
prehend the  various  interests  of  the  different  sections  of  country ;  the 
habits,  customs,  and  t)ursuits  of  the  people  in  different  qirartel-s— even 
their  prejudices,  if  you  choose — and  from  all  these  considerations,  enact 
his  laws  upon  such  principles  as  will  secure  the  interests  of  the  whole. 
He  who  will  not  permit  his  mind  so  far  to  expand  as  to  embrace  the  whole 
extent  of  his  own  country,  will,  always  be  in  danger  of  inflicting  injury, 
•while  he  intends  to  afford  protection.  Let  us  then  pass  this  bill ;  make 
our  system  co-extensive  with  the  country ;  adapt  it  to  the  wishes  and 
expectations  of  society;  place  every  State  on  an  equal  footing  in  fact, 
with  every  other:  we  will  then  have  made  an  effort  upon  this  subject 
from  which  y^e  have  reason  to  anticipate  much  good.  Should  it,  con- 
trary to  our  expectations  and  wishes,  be  productive  of  mischief,  the  fifteen 
States  which  now  have  an  efficient  system,  can  have  no  just  cause  of  com- 
plaint. The  situation  of  all  will  be  equal ;  the  inconvenience  will  be  com- 
mon to  all.  "We  have  a  right  to  expect  and  therefore  do  expect,  this  risk 
will  be  encountered  ia  an  attempt  to  do  justice  to  all. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

SENATORIAL  CAREER INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENTS U.  S.  BANK. 

During 'the  period  from  the  session  of  1825-6  to  that  of  1831-2, 
Judge  Whitei  delivered  few  speeches  of  any  considerable  length.  In- 
deed, during  his  whole  life,  he  spoke  unfrequently ;  saying  so  much 
as  would  ex]3lain  his  reasons  for  voting,  where  necessary,  or  briefly 
presenting  his  views  upon  any  sul^ject  of  sufficient  importance. 

In  the  days  of  President  Jackson,  the  question  of  Internal  Improve- 
ments was  one  as  yet  not  fully  investigated.  There  was  in  many 
sections  of  the  country,  a  strong  feeling,  based  upon  the  evident  profits 
to  accrue  frota  such  improvements,  in  favor  of  the  extension  of  aid  to 
them  by  the'  genefal  government ;  and  the  question  was,  moreover, 
warmly  urged  by  the  opposition,  probably  not  without  a  view  of  em- 
barrassing the  administration,  by  forcing  it  either  to  appropriate  vast 
sums  for  the  purpose,  and  so  to  incur  the  odium  of  extravagance,  or 
to  defeat  all  such  appropriations,  and  so  to  incur  dislike  in  the  sec- 
tions of  country  asking  them.  Judge  White  never  sanctioned  the 
doctrine  of  Internal  Improvements  by  the  federal  government.  He 
believed  that  no  power  was  expressly  granted  by  the  Constitution  to 
the  federal  government  to  engage  in  the  business  of  Internal  Im- 
provements as  a  system.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  his  opinion  that 
the  extensive  power  of  making  roads  and  canals  through  States,  be- 
longed exclusively  to  the  States,  and  should  never  be  surrendered  to  the 
central  government ;  that  although  in  a  state  of  war,  or  for  purposes 
of  war,  the  United  States  possessed  the  power  to  make  a  road  through 
any  State,  as,  in  a  case  of  necessity  they  might  also,  under  the  power  to 
"  establish  post  roads,"  construct  a  road,  such  powers  were  only  to  be 
exercised  in  extraordinary  cases.  And,  aside  from  this  decision  upon 
the  ground  of  unconstitutionality,  the  power  in  question  would,  he 
believed,  be  dangerous  from  its  capacity  of  bevng  abused.  It  would 
place  an  immense  patronage  in  the  hands  of  the  federal  Executive, 
and  might  thus  be  most  destructively  wielded  whenever  the  Executive 

70 


SPEECH    AT    KNOKVILLE,     1827.  71 

should  choose,  in   purchasing  friends  at   elections  or   other  critical 
periods. 

As  a  good  summary  of  his  opinion  on  this  and  some  otlier  subjects, 
and  likewise  for  the  sake  of  exhibiting  by  its  latter  paragraphs  the 
principles  avowpd  by  the  party  which  elected  General  Jackson,  which 
were  deserted  by  them^t  their  convenience,  when  expediency  seemed 
to  call  for  tergiversation  ;  and  for  consistent  adherence  to  which  prin- 
ciples, and  for  the  consequent  necessary  severance  from  the  remainder 
of  his  former  friends,  they  poured  out  upon  him  during  the  last  years 
of  his  life,  such  floods  of  unfounded  reproach,  we  here  insert  the 
larger  part  of  a  speech  delivered  by  Judge  White  to  his  constituents 
at  ICnoxville,  April  5th,  1827,  at  a  dinnei-  there  given  by  them  to  him-, 
in  acknowledgment  of  his  services  in  the  Senate, 


■*o 


Gentlemejt  : —  ■  ' 

I  should  be  worse  than  ftisensible,  if  I  did  not  feel  very  grateful  for  the 
kind  sentiments  just  expressed.  Next  to  being  conscious  of  good  in- 
tention, is  the  approbation  of  those  who  have  reposed  confidence  in  me; 
and,  especially,  that  portion  of  them,  who  have  been  witnesses  of  my  con- 
duct from  youth  to  manhood,  and  from  middle  age  to  the  decline  of  life. 
For  this  testimony  in  my  favor,  I  tender  you  my  most  grateful  acknow- 
ledgments. It  is  due,  however,  to  myself  to  say,  that  I  feel  humbled 
under  the  conviction  that  it  has  not  been  in  my  power  to  render  any 
service  to  my  country,  in  rhy  present  station,  at  all  equal  to  those  your 
kind  partiaUty  has  been  pleased  to  ascribe  to  me.  Had  I  b'een  fully  aware 
of  the  difficulties  I  would  have  to  encounter,  and  of  the  aflSictiohs  I  was 
doomed  to  suffer,  I  believe  I  should  have  shrunk  from  the  task  assigned 
me  by  the  Legislature ;  but,  having  voluntarily  undertaken  it,  no  domestio 
afflictions,  no  public  calumny,  could  make  me  seriously  doubt  for  one  mo- 
ment the  course  I  ought  to  pui'sue.  I  must  remain  at  my  post  fearlessly, 
and  without  faltering  discharge  my  duty,  trusting  to  the  intelligence  of 
my  countrymen  to  refute  calumny,  and  to  my  neighbors,  by  acts  of  per- 
sonal kindness,  to  soften  private  afflictions. 

Happily,  associated  with  those  wlio  espouse  different  sides  of  all  doubt- 
ful political  questions,  every  way  better  qualified  to  discuss  them  than 
myself,  I  have  been,  in  most  instances,  reljeved  from  taking  much  part  in 
public  debate,  and  have  been  content  to  listen  patiently,  and  vote  accord- 
ing to  what  I  considered  the  best  interests  of  the  country.  It  would  be 
presumptuous  in  me  to  suppose  I  have  not  sometimes  erred ;  Imt,  I  can 
safely  say,  never  intentionally.  Too  unimportant  to  be  often  singled  out  by 
name  as  an  object  of  abuse,  I  have  still  come  in  for  a  sliare  in  the  presses 
in  the  employ  of  the  administration,  under  the  general  appellation  of  "the 
unprincipled  faction  of  the  Senate."     This  charge,  so  far  as  it  applies  to 


72  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

me,  no  matter  by  whom  stated,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  pronouncing  an 
unfounded  cahimny ;  and  as  it  may  relate  to  others,  with  whom  I  liave 
aeted^  I  believe  it  to  be  equally  destitute  of  truth.  So  far  as  it  has  related 
to  every  measure  calculated  to  caiise.the  affairs  of  the  United  States  to  be 
conducted  upon  the  principles  to  which  we  have  been  accustomed  during 
the  republican  administrations,  there  has  been  little  variety  of  opinion  sincb 
I  have  been  in  Congress :  and,  in  every  instance,  as  it  relates  to  such 
measures,  the  Administration  has  had  the  most  prompt  and  efficient  aid 
from  those  who,  in  the  coalition  prints,  have  been  denominated  "  the  un- 
principled fiiction."  Indeed,  when  elected  to  the  Senate,  I  never  dreamed 
that  the  General  Assembly  of  Tennessee  expected  me  to  go  dressed  in  the 
uniform  either  of  those  opposed  to  the  Administration,  or  of  the  Adminis- 
tration itself — I  was  sent  in  the  uniform  of  my  country,  and  to  vote,  as  in 
my  judgment,  would  most  promote  its  interest,  and  this^li^ty,  I  feel  con- 
scious, I  have  discharged  in  the  best  manner  I  knew  how.  So  fal*  from 
expectirlg  that  was  to  happen,  which  has  come  to  pass  during  the  pen- 
dency of  the  last  Presidential  election  (although  I  always  had  a  decided 
preference),  I  believed  the  government  would  be  administered  upon  repub- 
lican principles,  let  which  of  the  candidates  mightr  prevail,  and,  until  aft^r 
my  election  to  the  Senate,  had  seen  no  good  reasoa  to  change  that  opinioa. 

The  President's  message  to  Congresg,  at  the  cqmmencement  of  the  first 
session,  since  I  was  a  member,  took  me  by  surprise.  I  saw  in  it  a  claim 
of  powers  for  the  federal  government,  more  extravagant  than  had  ever 
been  made  in  the  days  of  federalis^a— .^-a  claim  wliich  I  believed  every 
sound  American  federalist,  as  well  ag  every  republican,  ought  to  be 
equal!}'  prompt  in  condemning.  This  was  soon  followed  by  a  message  to 
the  Senate,  on  the  mission  to  Panama,  in  Avhich  was  claimed  for  the  Ex- 
ecutive, powers  which,  if  yielded,  would  leave  to  the  Senate  nothing  on 
the  subject  of  foreign  missLous  worth  preserving. 

From  my  entrance  into  the  bustle  of  life,  I  had  been  in  the  habit  of 
thinking,  that  those  who  denied  to  the  federal  government,  all  power, 
except  that  which  is  granted  in  express  terms,  or  which  is  necessaxy  to 
carry  into  effect  some  powaj*  expressly  granted,  expounded  the  Constitu- 
tion more  correctly  than  that  sect  who  >vish  to  confer  power  by  implica- 
tion, who  believe  the  federal  government  ought  to  protect  the  people 
"against  their  worst  enemies — themselves;"  because  they  have  "not  vir- 
tue and  intelligence  sufficient  fer  self-government ;"  I  could  not,  therefore, 
do  otherwise  than  oppose  the  Executive  in  those  extravagant  pretensions. 
This  celebrated  mission  to  Panama,  it  appeared  to  me,  was  inconsist- 
ent with  our  former  policy,  with  the  Avholesome  advice  given  us^  by  the 
Father  of  his  Country,  and  uselessly  putting  at  liazard  the  liberty  and  hap- 
piness of  the  people  of  the  United  States.  My  best  wishes,  as  well  fts 
yours,  were  with  those  who  were  struggling  for  the  right  to  govern 
themselves ;  but  these  wishes  could  not  induce  me  to  sanction  a  policy> 


INTERNAL    IMPROVMENTS.  73 

"whith,  according  to  my  best  jiulginont,  put  at  hazard  the  true  interest  of 
our  own  oiti/.ens,  for  the  wild  notion  of  being  esteemed  flie  friends  and 
upholders  of  liberty  throughout  the  civilized  world.  We  might,  I  thought, 
better  employ  ourselves  in  strengthening  our  own  Union — a  union,  which, 
if  perpetuated,  Avill  furnish  adequate  employ  for  all  o\ir  patriots  and  states- 
men, witliout  extending  the  sphere  of  our  duties  to  embrace  other  na- 
tions, to  whom-  Ave  are  under  no  special  obligations. 

If  doubts  were  eutei'tained  in  the  first  instance,  whether  it  was  not 
intended  to  make  some  agreement  with  these  Spanish  American  States, 
by  which  our  fate  would,  in  some  respects,  be'identified  with  theirs,  those 
doubts  were  very  much  increased  when  the  President  openly  came  out, 
and  endeavored  to  satisfy  the  'American  people,  that  the  advice  of  \Yash- 
ington  against  "  ^tangling  alliances  "  had  no  application  to  republics  on 
our  own  continent.  But  I  pass  from  a  topic  which  lias  been  long  since 
amply  discussed,  and  in  relation  to  which  at  this  day,  there  cannot  well 
be  more  than  one  opinion. 

In  comparatively  modern  days,  a  subject  has  been  got  up,  concern- 
ing which,  I  wiU  venture  a  very  few  remarks.  I  allude  to  internal 
improvements  by  the  federal  goternment.  The  most  I  have  found  it  rav 
duty  heretofore  to  say  upon  that  subject  was,  that  where  the  road  or 
canal  was  to  pass  through  a  State,  I  doubted  the  power  of  the  federal 
government,  and  while  I  thus  doubted,  I  would  not  vote  in  favor  of  an 
appropriation  for  such  an  object.  In  relation  to  roads  or  canals  through 
a  territory,  the  case  was  different. 

Whether  the  federal  government  possesses  the  power  to  engage  in  the 
business  of  internal  improvement  as  a  system^  is  a  question  of  very  grave 
import  This  is  neither  the  time  nor  place  to  engage  in  the  discussion  of 
such  a  question.  Thus  much,  however,  I~  frankly  state  as  my  opinion ; 
that  I  cannot  find  any  such  power  expressly  granted  in  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States, -nor  do  I  believe  it  at  all  necessary  to  give  effect  to 
any  power  that  is  expressly  granted  by  that  instrument.  Still,  it  may  be 
true,  that  in  a  state  of  war,  and  for  the  purposes  of  war,  the  United 
States  may  have  power  to  make  a  road  through  any  State.  So,  likewise 
it  may  be  true  in  a  case  of  necessity  under  the  power  "  to  establish  post 
roads  '•'  that  they  may  have  power  to  construct  a  road :  but  if  they  have 
sudi  power  in  these  extraordinary  cases,  I  think  it  is  not  true,  that  they 
possess  the  power  to  embark  in  the  business  of  constructing  roads  and 
canals  through  the  respective  States  Avhen  and  where  they-  choose  in 
defiance  of  the  will  of  the  States.  I  am  the  decided  friend  of  internal 
improvements,  but  I  am  friendly  to  them  when  made  by  the  power  which, 
consistently  with  the  Cpnstitution,  can  make  them.  No  man,  I  think, 
can  reasonably  doubt  but  that  each  of  the  States  has  the'  power  to  make 
as  many  roads  and  canals  as  they  please, within  their  own  limits,  and  that 
tliey  will  exercise  this  power  in  every  instance  where  the  interest  of  their 
citizens  require  it,  I  cannot  doubt. 


74  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

I  think  not  only  that  the  United  States  do  not  possess  this  extensive 
power,  but  ferther,  tliat  it  ought  never  to  be  surrendered  to  them. 

Ah-eady  it  is  alarming  to  contemplate  the  patronage  of  the  federal 
government  when  acting  within  the  sphere  of  Constitutional  power; 
grant  it  this  additional  power,  and,  in  my  opinion,  it  will  be  useless  to 
talk  of  State  rights,  or  the  people's  rights;  they  will  e?:ist  in  name,  only, 
or  at  most,  at  the  will  of  the  federal  government.  Of  all*  powers  this 
would  be  wielded  most  destructively  whenever .  the  federal  execirtive 
might  choose.  At  present,  oJBces,  the  hope  of  oJBBces,  or  the  use  of  "the 
people's  own  money,  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  executive,  are  the  com- 
mon means  of  corrupting  one  class  of  the  community,  who  may  be  rdied 
upon,  to  mislead  and  deceive  anotlier:  but  with  this  power,  whole  sec- 
tions of  country  might  be  operated  upon  directly.  At  present,  the  execu- 
tive can  ovlIj 2^ur chase  friends  by  retail;  then,  they  could  engage  in  the 
wholesale  business.  We  are  not  altogether  destitute  of  experience  upon 
this  subject.  A  few:  years  ago,  I  think  in  1824,  Congress  passed  an  act 
autliorizing  the  Pi'esident  to  have  such  routes  surveyed,  for  roads  and 
canals,  as  would  be  considered  national  in  relation  to  commerce,  to  post 
roads,  or  to  military  roads,  and  to  enable  him  to  give  effect  to  this  law, 
has  at  each  session  since,  appropriated  large  sums  of  money,  to  de£i-ay  the 
expense  of  the  engineer  corps  engaged. in  the  business.  'And  how  has 
this  law  been  practised  upon  ?  It  has  been  in  many  instances  abused  and 
perverted  from  its  meaning.  If  there  is  any  one  road  that  would  be  con- 
sidered more  national  than  any  other,  it  would  be  one  from  "Washington 
to  New  Orleans.  Accordingly,  one  was  to  be  surveyed,'  and  three  routes 
were  proposed  for  a  road  between  those  points.  One  to  go  through  the 
capital  of  each  of  the  Southern  States — another  to  go  along  the  foot 
of  the  mountains  on  their  southern  side,  and  the  third  to  cross  the  Blue 
Eidge  not  far  from  Washington  and  come  along  the  valley  through  this 
quarter  of  the  country,  and  so  on  to  New  Orleans.  Engineers  were 
ordered  to  view  these  routes,  and  ascertain  the  advantages  and  disadvan- 
tages relating  to  each,  that  it  might  be  decided  which  of  the  three  should 
Ije  preferred.  The  surveys  of  the  southern  and  middle  j-outes  wete  made 
by  three  engineers ;  and  when  the  one,  in  which  we  are  interested,  called 
the  northern,  was  to  be  examined,  only  two  of  the  three  could  be  spared, 
and  they  were  ordered  to  hurry  on  by  the  nearest  practicable  course ; 
and  so.it  is,  that  they  travelled.at  agait  which  enabled  them  to  come  with 
nearly  as  much  speed  as  travellers  on  ordinary  business,"  not  feeling  them- 
selves at  liberty  to  deviate  to  the  right  hand  or  tlie  left  from  the  most 
direct  route,  to  make  any  examination  whatever.  It  is  true,  that  tliey 
were  necessarily  detained  in  tliis  place  a  few  days,  waiting  the  arrival  of 
a  gentleman  now  present,  who  had  been  appointed  to  accompany  them 
through  this  State.  Here,  they  were  requested  by  myself  and  others,  to 
view  the  several  routes  which  had  been  spoken  of  through  Tennessee,  but 
the  answer  was,  their  orders  did  not  permit  them  to  deviate  from  the 


INTERNAL    IMPKOVEMENTS.  75 

most  direct  route,  for  tlie  sake  of  examining  any  other.  IJpon  a  report 
after  such  a  survey y  the  northern  route  is  to  come  in  competition  with 
tlie  other  two,  and  to  have  its  advantages  and  disadvantages,  compared 
with  those  of  the  others  ;  and  after  all  tl^is  haste,  no  route  is  yet  located. 
All  three  are  taught  to  expect  the  road,  and  at  the  same  time  that  a  friend 
of  the  Administration  here  is  trying  to  satisty  you,  that,  if  you  will  be 
friendly  to  those  in  power,  and  vote  for  them  and  their  friends,  they  will 
dejJ.  kindly  with  you,  apd  cause  the  road  to  be  located  on  your  route, 
exactly  the  same  language  may  be  employed  by  their  advocates  on  each 
of  the  other  routes,  and  thus,  by  keeping  those  three  routes  in  the  market, 
it  is  hoped  that  the  mass  of  the  people,  from  the  extreme  of  the  northern 
route,  to  the  Atlantic  may  be  influenced  the  whole  distance  from  "Wash- 
ington to  New  Orleans.  Tlie  like  practices  are  pursuing  elsewhere.  In 
Maine,  a  State  which  has  more  sea  coast  than,  perhaps,  any  in  the  Union, 
in  the  course  of  the  past  yeai',  engineers  were  kept  well  employed  in 
surveying  routes  for  roads  and  canals — their  elections  were  going  on,  and 
to  get  a  •good  senator  in  Congress,  it  was  necessary  to  have  good  members 
of  assembly,  and  so  it  is,  that  Mr.  Eolmes  has  been  engineered  out,  and 
another  put  in  his  place,  who,  it  may  be  hoped,  will  not  be  "  an  unprin- 
cipled factionist." 

In  Virginia,  towards  Greenbrier,  routes. were  also  carefully  attended  to, 
and  surveyed,  and  Mr.  Eandolph  is  disposed  of.  In  one  of  the  other  dis- 
tricts of  Virginia,  the  people  were  becoming  restless,  their  representative 
was  likely  to  be.  considered  a  coalitionist,  and  an  opposition  candidate 
was  talked  of:  but  application  is  made  for  a  part  of  the  engineer  corps  to 
survey  a  little  eight-mile  route  for  a  canal  in  the  neighborhood,  where 
you  must  bring  water  twelve  miles  to  feed  it,  and  the  executive  promptly 
attended  to  the  call;  a  detachment  of  engineers  was  sent,  the  route 
surveyed  and  the  people  soothed  because  all  this  was  effected  through  the 
representative,  who  is  on  good  terms  with  the  Administration,  who  are 
every  ready  to  attend  to  such  applications.  I  cannot  upon  this  subject 
do  better  than  to  refer  such  as  have  not  read  it,  to  Mr.  Rives's  speech  at 
the  last  session.  He  shows,  practically,  what  use  may  be  made ;  nay  more, 
what  is  made,  of  this  power,  by  the  federal  executive. 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  waste,  although  repeatedly  applied  to,  they  had 
no  spare  engineers  to  survey  any  route  for  a  road  or  canal  for  Tennessee 
or  for  Alabama.  Have  patience  my  friends,  our  elections  are  to  come  on 
in  August,  a  detachment  will  be  here  in  due  season.  Tennessee  needs 
good  members  of  Congress  and  members  of  Assembly,  as  well  as  other 
States,  and  the  executive  will  have  its  business  attended  to  here  even  if 
something  is  neglected  elsewhere.  •  This  is  a  power  so  capable  of  being 
abivsed,  already  so  much  abused,  «o  destructive  of  the  purity  of  elections, 
that  I  caii'not  think  the  federal  government  eithoi'  does,  or'  ought  to 
possess  it.     After  what  I  have  said,  it  is  necessary,  to  prevent  misconcep- 


^6 


MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 


tion,  that  I  shoulxl  add,  it  is  not  my  intention  to  throw- ont  a  hint  against 
any  gentleman  in  the  engineer  corps.  I  have  never  heard  anght  to  their 
prejudice ;  I  presumie  they  are  well  qualified  for.  the  stations  they  respec- 
tively fill,  and  I  have  in  no  one  instance  heard  of  any  of  them  irft^-fering 
in  the  elections,  or  political  concerns  of  the  country.  The  influence  of 
•which  I  complain  is  of  a  different  description— the  very  fact  of  having 
routes  surveyed  for  these  roads  and' canals  is  calculated,  and  I  believe 
intended,  to  excite  expectations  in  different  quarters  of  tlie  country,  that 
the  present  rulers  are  kindly  disposed,  and  that  they  will,  if  continued 
in  power,  cause  roads  and  canals  to  be  made  where  it  is  not  intended  to 
make  them,  and  where,  if  made,  they  would  be  of  little  or  no  importance. 

Should,  however,  a  majority  of  Congress  determine  on  making  a  road 
from  Washington  to  New  Orleans,  which,  to  say  the  least,  I  doubt  their 
power  to  do,  I  have  no  question,  but  the  northern  route,  that  which  leads 
through  this  section  of  country,  ought  for  many  reasons  to  be  preferred, 
.to  either  of  the  other  two  ;  and  I  think  we  have  much  cause  to  complain, 
that  the  engineers  were  not  permitted  to  give  to  it  as  thorough  an  exami- 
nation, as  they  did  to  those  others. 

The  tariff,  as  it  is  called,  was  much  talked  of  during  the  last  winter, 
and  a.  bill  passed  the  House  of  Eepresentatives,  the  object  of  which  was 
to  increase  very  considerably,  the  dnty  upon  woollens,  liot  of  the  highest 
price.  It  was  not  discussed  or  acted  u-pon  in  the  Senate  for  want  of  time. 
I  have  never  heard  any  public  discussion  of  the  question  relative  to  taxes 
imposed  on  foreign  merchandise,  with  a  view  to  protect  and  encourage  the 
manufacture  of  similar  fabrics,  in  the  United  States.  To  give  protection 
to  a  certain  extent,  I  have  never  doubted  the  power  of  the  federal  govern- 
ment ;  but  this,  like  every  other  power,  ought  always  to  be  exercised  for 
the  good  of  the  whole  ;  and  under  my  present  impression  I  never  Avould 
impose  a  tax  upon  a  foreign  article,  which  as  a  nation^  we  could  con- 
veniently do  without,  whei-e  I  saw,  or  had  reason  to  believe,  it  woiild 
increase  the  price  of  the  article  throughout  an  extensive  section  of  country 
and  none  were  to  be  benefited  by  it  but  a  few  capitalists  who  would  be 
thereby  levying  a  tax  upon  a  considerable  portion  of  the  community  for 
their  individual  benefit.  I  should  like  to  see  domestic  manufactures 
flourish ;  but  would  never  wish  to  see  them  brought  intO'  existence  or 
nourished  in  one  section  of  country  at  the  expense  and  positive  loss  of 
another. 

In  some  quarters  of  the  United  States,  I  see  the  last  Congress  is  com- 
plained of,  because  they  passed  but'  few  laws.  For  ray  OAvn  part,  I 
believe  if  the  necessary  laws  are  passed  to  enable  the  United  States  to 
perform  promptly  their  appropriate  functions,  and  to  meet  punctually  their 
just  engagements,  it  ought  never  to  be  cause  of  regret,  that  there  is 
little  legislation.  As  to  our  internal  concerns,  they  are  better  understood 
and  acted  upon  in  the  respective  States  than  they  can  ever  be  in  Con- 


PRESIDENTI.VL    ELECTIONS.  77 

gress.  Indeed,  t^Jcre  are  but  few  internal  concerns  with  which  Congress  can 
properly  intermeddle.  It  is  mainly  to  regulate  our  foreign  concerns,  that 
the  federal  government  was  created,  and  it  ought  never  to  be  tiie  policy 
of  those  who  wish  "jvell  to  the  United  States  to  increase  the  action  of  the 
federal  gbvernment  p  because,  as  you  increase  its  action  you  increase  the 
expenditure  of  money,  and  as  t^here  are  but  few  of  the  States  in  which  legi- 
timate objects  of  expenditHrfi  can  be  found,  it  will  operate  most  injtiriously  - 
that  large  sums  should  be  drawn  from  g,ll  equally  and  expended  among  few. 
Although  it  is  true  but  few  laws  were  enacted  at  the  late  session  ;  yet, 
some  of  greM  importance  were  acted  upon  finally ;  the  bankrupt  bill, 
long  and  ably  debated,  was  finally  negatived,  a  provision  for  a  naval 
school  was  also  a  good  deal  discussed  and  finally  negatived ;  as  well  as 
many  others  which  it  were  useless  to  allude  to  at  this  time. 

There  is  one  other  subject  upon  which  it  is  natural  to  expect  I  should 
say  something,  and  I  do  it  the  more  willingly,  as  this  may  be  the  only 
occasion  offered  at  present,  where  I  can  see  many  of  my  fellow  citi2;en3 
under  eircumsfanees  in  which  it  would  be  proper  to  say  anything  pub- 
licly;  and  there  is  np  usage  of  which  I  am  aware  to  justify  printed  com- 
munications to  them.     I  allude  to  the  next  election  for  President.     It  is 
said  by  the  Administration  and  their  fi-ienda  that  there  is  nothing  of  prin- 
ciple invqWed  in  it,  that  it  is  a  mere  question  among  men,  whether  A 
or  B  shall  be  preferred.     In  my  conception,  there  cannot  well  be  a  state- 
ment mora  incorrect.     The  present  incumbent  is  placed  in  the  highest 
ofiice  known  to  our  law,  agreeably  to  the  forms  of  the  Constitution^  in 
direct  opposition  to  the  Jcnown  will  of  a  majority  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  and  this,  through  the  active  agency  of  the  man,  who  now 
Jills  the  most  honorable  station  in  his  cabinet.     Thus  placed  by  their 
own  management  (hard  words  are  useless)  in  berths  which  give  them 
the  control  of  the  whole  executiv-e  patronage  of  the  United  States,  they 
believe  the  judicious  use  of  the  patronage,  thus  placed  in  their  power,. 
is  sufficient  to  procure  as  many  partisans  aa  will  secure  the  re-election 
of  the  present  incumbent  for  the  next  term,  and  then,  according  to  "  safe 
precedent,^'  a  suitable  successor,  and  so  on,  perpetually.     The  true  ques- 
tion is,  whether  the  people  are  sufliciently  virtuous  and  enlightened  to 
govern  themselves.     If  they  are,  tliey  will  at  the  time  pointed  out  in  the 
Constitution,  by  their  votes,  displace  the  present  incumbent,  and  thus 
give  a  lesson  not  to  be  misunderstood,  one  which  will  teach  every 
aspirant  for  office,  that  the'will  of  the  people  shall  not  be  disobeyed  Avith 
impunitj',  that  they  are  not  yet  so  uninformed  and  corrupt,  as  to  be 
bought  Up  with  their  own  money  and  their  own  ofiices,  in  sufficient  num- 
bers to  enslave  the  majority. 

Every  effort  of  which  the  Opposition  Oongi'ess  was  capable,  was  made 
to  have  the  Constitution  so  amended,  as  to  permit  the  people,  in  person, 
in  their  respective  districts,  to  vote  for  the  man  of  their  choice,  and  thus 


78  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

prevent  them  from  being  defraiuled  by  tlie  foithlessness  of  their  agents  j 
but  this  proposition  was  strenuously  resisted  and  ultimately.failed. 

That  the  people  are. the  sovereigns,  is  our  theory;  that  their  will,  as  to 
who  shall  fill  their  oflSces  when  fairly  expressed,  must  be  obeyed ;  yet 
some  States  in  the  last  election  were  misrepresented  and  the  representa- 
tives, in  defiance  of  the  known  will  of  their  constituents,  and  in  opposition 
to  solemn  public  pledges,  gave  their  votes  to  the  present  incumbent ;  the 
only  punishment  which,  tjie  people  could  inflict  upon  these  faithless 
representatives"  was  to  dismiss  them  from  further  employ  at  the  next 
election.  This  they  have  done,  and  yet,  with  this  mark  of  the  people's 
displeasure  imprinted  upon  them,  if  I  am  correctly  informed,  some  of 
them  have  lately  been  remunerated  by  the  executive  with  oflkes,  con- 
ferred as  a  reward  for  their  treachery.  As  this  course  is  pursued,  let 
the  people  put  forth  their  own  strength,  and  let  the  President  feel  that 
their  will  is,  to  be  consulted,  and  not  that  of  any  setof  political  jugglers 
whatever.  Let  them  dismiss  him  fvom  public  employ,  who,  with  their 
offices  and  their  money,  would;  defraud  thetja  of  their  most  invaluable 
privilege,  that  of  having  those  to  serve  them,,  whom  the  majority  wills 
should  do  so. 

If  this  ill-gotten  .power  is  sufficient,  if  offices  actually  given,  and  the 
hope  of  offices  hereafter  expected;  if  money  already  given,  and  that.here- 
after  expected,  are  sufficient  to  procure  partisans,  who  have  management 
enough  to  mislead  a  majority,  there  is  an  end  of  free  government ;  it 
exists  in  name  only.  That  is  the  experiment  now  making,  that  is  the 
issue  made  up  and  to  be  tried  at  the  next  election.  Let  every  man  take 
his  side — in  such  cases  there  can  be  but  two  parties,  and  all  who  are  not 
disposed  to  come  forth  in  vindication  of  the  people's  right  and  capacity 
to  govern  themselves,  are  with  the  coalition,  who  Avould  fix  u|X)n  us, 
that  which  is  worse  than  monarchy  itself,  and  yet  leave  us  the  name 
of  a  republic. 

On  the  subject  of  Internal  rmprovements,  Judge  "White  afterwards 
writes  to  a  political  personal  friend  an«i  correspondent,  March  31st, 
1830: 

Your  favor  giving  an  account  of  the  meeting  in  Ivnaxville,  on.the  sub- 
ject of  the  Buflalo  and  New  Orleans  Eoad  came  safely  to- hand.  .  .  .  The 
result*  is  creditable  to  the  integrity  and  intelligence  of  Knox  County. 
The  temptation  to  transgress  the  constitutional  bounds  is  very  strong .  ,  . 
I  lament  that  my  friend  R.  should  uot  control  his  temper.  Knives  and 
pistols  are  silencing^  though  seldom  convincing  arguments.  They  ought 
never  to  be  tolerated  in  a  country  civilized  and  free. 

*  An  expression  of  opinion  against  the  propriety  of  building  the  Koad  (which  would  have 
crossed  Tennessee)  by  federal  aid. 


INTERNAL   IMPROVEMENTS. 


S9 


Tbis  last  digressive  paragraph  is  in  consonance   with  the  writer's 
well-known  and  lofty  sentiments  upon  the  barbarian  custom  of  single 

combat. 

He  writes  ao^aiu,  sarcastically,  on  the  same  Road  Bill,  under  date 

April  2d,  1830:  v  ' 

.A  thought  Tipon  this  road :— If  we  are  really  to  sell  out  our  prin- 
ciples for  pay,  or  if  it  be  intended  through  the  medium  of  Internal 
Improvements  to  give  us  a  due  share  of  public  disbursements,  how  is  it 
that  we  are  to  have  only  a  dirt  road  at  fifteen  hundred  dollars  a  mile  ? 
"VThy  not  give  us  a  Macadamized  turnpike  or  a  railroad  ?  I  view  jt  as  an 
indignity  to  my  country  and  my  constituents.  Give  ns  as  good  as  is  given 
to  others,  or  give  us  nothing,  say  I.  I  am  against  the  power  to  make  the 
road ;  but  I  would  infinitely  rather  vote  for  a  decent  One,  such  as  is  made 
for  others^  than  for  one  made  on  this  dirt-dabUng  plan. 

Again,  to  the  same,  in  relation  to  the  well-known  Maysville  and 
Lexington  Road,  May  21st,  1830  : 

Several  bills  have  been  introduced,  and  some  of  them  passed,  rec^iir- 
ing  the  United  States  to  subscribe  for  stock  in  companies  created  by 
State  Laws  to  make  Eoads  or  Canals.'  One  of  them,  to  wit,  for  making 
a  road  from  Maysville  to  Lexington,  in  Kentucky,  is  now  before  the 
President  for  his  signature.  Great  doubts  are  entertained  as  to  what  he 
will  do  with  it.  Some  think  he  will  sign,  others  that  he  will  not. 
Without  Inoicing  anything,  I  hope  for  the  last.  The  common  impression 
is,  that  our  opponents  have  had  a  settled  plan  to  appropriate  so  much 
money  as  to  prevent  the  President  from  paying  the  National  Debt ;  and 
it  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  some  of  our  political  friends  have  acted  with 
them,  under  a  hope  that  their  own  particular  counties  couid  in  a  partner- 
ship scramble  obtain  some  local  advantage. 

I  hope  much  from  the  integrity,  firmness  and  intelligence  of-  the 
President.  If  he  yields  to  this  corrupting  branch  of  federal  patronage, 
I  shall  consider  the  country  ruined. 

The  Bank  of  the  United  States  was  chartered  in  1816.  It  was 
made  the  receptacle  of  the  public  moneys  of  the  United  States ;  and 
by  means  'of  this  powerful  substantial  aid  in  connection  with  the 
numerous  branches  throughout  t)ie  Union,  and  by  the  skilful  use 
of  certain,  exclusive  privileges,  it  soon  became  the  centre  and  foun- 
tain of  a  vast  and  constantly  increasing  circulation  of  paper-money. 
Judge  White  looked  upon  this  rapid  extension  as  a  dangerous 
stimulus  to  business,  ^nd  as  hazarding  the  public  good  by  encour^g- 


80  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

ing  extravagant  speculation.  This  was  a  serious  evil;  but  another 
which  he  dreaded  more,  was  the  power  which  the  bank  or  any  similar 
institution  might  exercise  in  controlling  elections.  He  opposed  the 
bank  from  principle ;  as  he  would  oppose  "any  measure  or  establish- 
ment which  would  place  it  in  the  power  of  politicians,  or  capitalists, 
or  combinations  of  both,  to  exert  any  undue  influence  upon  the  use 
of  tbe  elective  franchise.  He  had  been  long  and  intimately 
connected  with  banks,  was  well  versed  in  their  nature.  Operations  and 
tendencies ;  and  early  and  accurately  augured  the  revulsions  of 
1819-'20,  as  well  as  those  which  followed  up  to  1834,  as  natural 
results  of  the  operations  of  the  United  States  Bank. 

It  has  been  shown  that  whik  ^  membfer  of  the  Tennessee  Legisla- 
ture, in  1827,  he  opposed  the  establishment' of- a  branch  of  this  insti- 
tution in  that  State.  At  a  still  earlier  period,  when  the  bill  containing 
the  oriofinal  charter  of  the  central  bank  was  before  the  House  of- 
of  Representatives  at  Washington,  Wm,  G.  Blount,  then  representative 
from  Judge  White's  district  (who  had"  been  his  ward,  and  an  inmate 
of  his  family),  sent  him  a  printed  copy  of  the  bill,  asking  his  opinion 
of  it.  Judge  White  wrote  to  him,  giving  a  decided  opinion  against 
it.  Mr.  Blount  alone  voted  against  the  bill,  of  all  the  Tennessee 
delegation. 

Judge  Wliite  went  into  the  Senate  in  1825,  entertaining  the  opinion 
that  the  charter  was  both  unconstitutional  and  impolitic ;  and  upon 
that  opinion  he  uniformly  acted.  When  the  bill  for  the  renewal  of 
the  charter  was  brought  before  Congress  in  1832,  he'  opposed  it  in  a 
speech  of  some  length,  which  was  characterized  by  the  public  prints 
as  the  ablest  argument  on  the  subject  made  during  the  session.  What 
state  of  feeling  prevailed  at  Washington,  between  the  friends  and 
enemies  of  the  bank,  may  be  inferred  from  a  letter  of  Judge  White's, 
dated  Feb.  22d,  1832;  just  one  day  before  Mr.  Clayton's  motion  to 
appoint  a  committee  for  investigating  tke  atiairs  of  the  bank. 

Judge  White  says : 

Everything  here  is  in  a  bustle.  Nothing  out  of.  which  mischief  can  be 
made  is  suftbred  to  slumber.  Ill  blood  is  produced  by  almost  every  event; 
and  a  great  disposition  is  manifested  by  some  to  appeal  to  the  trial  by 
battle.  Newspapers  have,  as  yet,  answered  to  let  off  the  superabundant 
steam.  As  the  weather  grows  w^armer,  passions  will  rise  higher,  and,  I 
think,  depletion  ly  tJie  drawing  ofdhod^  will,  before  long,  b^ome  indis- 
pensable to  restore  that  courtesy  which  never  ought  to  be  lost  sight  of  by 
tliose  entrusted  by  society  with  the  promotion  .of  its  highest  interest.    No 


UNITED   STATES    BANK,  81 

man  can  tell  when  or  with  whom  he  is  to  be  involved.  I  will  do  all  that 
a  prudent  man  ought  to  do  to  avoid  difficulties,  hut  should  it  be  my  lot  to 
have  them  forced  upon  me,  my  reliance  is,  that  Providence  will  guide  me 
through  them  in  safety. 

Judge  White's  speech,  delivered  on  the  7th  and  8th  of  June,  1'832, 
of  the  same  yejir,  on  the  question  of  the  engrossment  and  third  read- 
ing of  the  bill  to  renew  the  charter  of  the  bank,  was  as  follows  :    ' 

Mr.  President — I  am  pleased  with  the  tnajiner  in  which  the  discussion 
of  this  important  subject,  has  been  commenced  and  continued  thus  far; 
and,  although  it  is  my  intention  to  express  my  own  sentiments  with  that 
freedom  which  belongs  to  my  place,  and  with,  the  frankness  of  one  who 
has  no  opinion  to  conceal,  yet  I  should  be  sorry  jf,  in  the  remarks  lam 
about  to  submit,  I  should  nnnecessarily  say  anything  calculated  to  change 
the  tone  of  the  debate. 

Whether  the  charter  of  the  existing  Bank  of  the  United  States  ought  to 
be  renewed,  is  a  question  whioli  should  not  be  blended  with  another 
^reat  question,  and  that  is,'  whether  the  high  duties  to  be  performed  by 
the  federal  government  can  be  discharged  without  the  aid  of  a  bank  of 
some  description.* 

To  the  existing  (Company  flue  United  States  should,  in  good  faith,  dis- 
charge every  obligation  they  have  .contracted ;  up  to  this  time  they  have 
done' so  ;  and  if  they  shall  not  put  in  operation  any  other  bank  until'  the 
existing'  charter  expires,  and  in  other  respects  comply  with  existing 
stipulations,  in  th6  meantime,  no  violation  of  their  faith  cj^n  be  charged 
to  them. 

The  present  stockholders,  so  far  as  they  are  citizens,  will  have  had  a 
complete  monopoly  for  twenty  years,  and  would,  in  my  opinion,  have  less 
claim  to  become  subscribers  to  any  other  bank  to  be  created  by  the 
federal  government,  than  other  citizens  who  have  been  excluded  from  all 
banking  privileges,  in  time  past.  Foreigners^  who,  at  present,  are  stock- 
holders, have  no  claims  whatever  upon  us.  This  charter  was  always 
excei)tionable,  on  account  of  the  United  States  being  a  stockholder.  By 
owning  sk)clc  they  become  the  partnfer  of  a  few  private  citizens,'  and  give 
them  the  benefit  of  the  character,  resources,  and  influence  of  the  whole, 
thus  etiabling  a  favored  few  to  make  profits  out  of  the  whole,  for  their 
own  exclusive  benefit-  this  is  wrong  in  principle.  Ours  is  a  government 
foimded  on  equality,  an'd  ought  never  to  be  so  conducted  as  to  give  a  few 

*  I  do  not  wish  it  to  be  understood,  as  my  opinion,  that  a  bank,  chartered  by  Consrress,  may 
noi  be  necessary  to  insure  tlie  correct  management  of  the  fiscal  concerns  of  the  federal 
government.  On  the  contrary,  I  tliink  it  very  probalile,  that,  upon  the  expiration  of  the 
present  cliarfei:,  one  may  he  devisfd,  consistent  with  tlie  Constitution,  giving  to  tlie  United 
States  all  the  benefits  which  a  hank  can  confer,  and  guard  against  the  evils  feared  from  the  bill 
now  under  consideration. — Note  by  Judge  White, 

6 


82  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

an  advantage  over  the  whole.  Although  it  may  be  said,  all  had  an  equal 
opportunity  to  subscribe  originally,  and  therefore  those  who  did  not,  can- 
not now  complain ;  j^et,  when  we  come  to  the  question  we  are  now 
considering,  that  of  giving  a  new  charter,  this  answer  loses. all  its  force ; 
because  now  we  select  a  few  by  -name,  become  connected  with  them,  and 
exclude  all  otlievs  from  any  participation  for  an  additional  fifteen  years. 
If  we  now  renew  this  charter,  because  the  present  stockholders  have 
been  the  partnej^-s  of  the  United  States  for  twenty  years,  the  argument  for 
a  second  renewal  will  become  stronger  at  the  end  of  the  next  fifteen,  and 
thus  we  shall  have  created  permanently  a  privileged  class  of  society,  who 
will  have  the  sanction,  influence,  and  resources  of  the  government 
afforded  them  to  make  money  at  the  expense  of  the  rest  of  society.  But 
of  all  partnerships,  this  would  be  the  most  exceptionable.  The  United 
States  own  seven  miUions  of  stock,  foreigners,  we  know,  own  .eight 
millions ;  how  much  more  in  tlie  names  of  citizens  we  cannot  tell,  and 
the  residue  is  owned  by  others,  and  these  different  interests  are  to  be 
combined  in  one  act  of  incorporation,  and  to  be  partners  in  banking  for 
fifteen  yeai's.  This  ought  not  to  be  done,  when  our  citizens  have  spare 
capital,  which  they^are  anxious  to  invest  in  such  stock. 

There  might  be  some  apology  for  this  course,  if  we  were  destitute  of 
capital  and  needed  foreign  aid ;  but  this  Ave  know  is  not  the  case — our 
own  surplus  capital,  seeking  safe  and  profitable  investments,  is  the  cause 
of  our  present  political  discontents.  During  the  European  wars,  which 
commenced  soon  after  the  formation  of  the  present  Constitution,  by  the 
employment  of  our  owp  capital,  in  navigation  and  commerce,  great  addi- 
tions were  made  to  it.  The  French  decrees  and  British  orders  in  council 
produced  our  restrictive  measures,  and  terminated  in  the  declaration  of 
war  in  1812.  This  war  caused  much  of  the  capital,  previously  employed 
in  navigation  and  commerce,  to  seek  employment  at  home.  It  was 
invested  iA  manufactures,  and  upon  the  return  of  peace  it  aske4  and 
obtained  from  .Congress  protection  .from  foreign  competition.  This  pro- 
tection occasioned  .  new  investments,  and  these  new  applications  for 
additional  protection,  at  different  periods,  up  to  the  present  time,  "VVe 
have  no  scarcity  of  American  capital — it  is  fully  equal  to  all  our  wants. 
Why  then  should  we  renew  this  charter,  and  give  exclusive  privileges  to 
foreignei-s,  when  our  citizens  are  anxious  to  invest  their  money  in  the 
bank,  and  are  offering  to  Congress  tei-ms  more  favorable,  than  are  secured 
to  us  by  this  bill?  It  is  said  this  bank  has  restored  gpecie  payments, 
collected  your  revenue,  paid  it  out,  paid  your  pensioners,  and  equalized 
exchange. 

Sir,  it  is  the  character. of  the  United  States,  of  which  this  bank  has 
had  the  exclusive  use,  it  is  the  funds  of  the  United  States,,  of  which  the 
bank  has  had  complete  control,  it  is  the  influence  of  our  character,  and 
our  money,  that  restored  specie  payments,  and  enabled  the  bank  to  con- 
tinue them  in  spite  of  bad  management. 


UNITED   STATES    BANK.  83 

The  collection  of  your  reventio  has  not  cost  the  bank  one  ccJnt.  It  has 
only  done  for  you,  what  any  bank  would  gladly  do  for  an  individual. 
It  has  received  your  money  on  deposit,  when  carried  to  its  vaults  at  your 
expense.  It  has  received  your  custom-lioiise,  and  other  bonds  for  collec- 
tion. It  voluntarily  paid,  and  received  the  money  when  duew  If  not 
paid,  it  put  tl>e  bonds  into  the  hands  of  your  laAV  oflBcer,  and  ho  has  made 
the  collections,  at  your  expense,  and  then  deposited  tlie  money  in  the  bank. 
Yi)ur  drafts  upon  the  bank  have  been  paid,  when  and  where  presented, 
and  well  they  might,  because  you  had  your  money  deposited,  in  every 
place  where  there  was  either  a  principal  or  a  branch  bank.  This,  in  place 
of  a  disadvantage,  must  have  been  a  source  of  profit  to  the  bank,  because 
upon  your  funds  it  could  draw,  and  re-draw  bills  in  favor  of  individuals, 
and  secure  premiums  to  itself. 

By  the  laws,  the  bank  was  not  bound  to  pay,  nor  did  it  pay,  fis  is  be- 
lieved, pensioners,  except  in  States  where  there  was  either  the  principal 
or  a  branch  bank.  The  only  trouble  was  to  pay  the  pensioners  when  they 
a^jplied  at  the  bank  and  take  receipts..  This  service  any  bank  would  gladly 
have  performed  for  the- benefit  of  the  deposit, -till  pay-day  should  arrive. 

As  to  the  uniformity  of  our  currency,  every  man  knows  that  the  notes 
of  this  bank  are  not,  in  every  quarter  of  the  country,  as  good  as  the  spe- 
cie. A  branch  note  payable  at  Nashville  or  New  Orleans,  is  necessarily  at 
a  discount,  in  Maine  or  New  York ;  and  as  to  the  domestic  exchange,  it 
is  always  in  favor  of  the  bank,  so  as  to  enable  it  to  receive  a  premium 
upon  a  bill,  or  draft,  when  it  sells  one,  and  obtain  a  discount  when  it  pur- 
chases. 

Much  credit  has  been  claimed  for  the  able  administration  of  the  affairs 
of  the  bank.  Gentlemen  ought  to  remember  that  this  praise  has  been 
claimed  on  a  scale  too  extensive.  For  a  portion  of  the  time,  since  tliis 
bank  has  been  in  operation,  it  has  been  managed  as  badly  as  any  institu- 
tion ever  was,  under  either  Federal  or  State  authority.  It  was  literally 
bankrupt  by  bad  management.  By  good  fortune,  at  a  lucky  tnoment,  the 
services  of  Mr.  Cheves  were  procured,  at  the  head  of  the  institution  ;  his 
talents,  his  business  habits,  his  stern  integrity,  and,  above  all,  his  unyield-. 
ing  firmness,  gave  to  its  concerns  a  direction,  which  saved  it  from  open 
and  notorious  bankruptcy,  and  enabled  it,  gradually,  by  the  whole  pecuriu 
ary  assistance  the  United  States  could  afford,  to  recover  its  charactei-,  and 
afterwards  sitstain  its  credit.  These  transactions  it  has  not  been  thought 
necessary  to  preserve,  by  placing  them  in  the  same  volume  with  the  af- 
fairs Trelatiog  to  our  banks,  and  with  which-we  have  each  been  furnished; 
but  we  ought,  nevertheless,  to  recollect  them,  and  ought  to  remember, 
also,  that  there  is  no  certainty,  but  the  affiiirs  of  this  institution  may 
again  be  under  the  direction  of  those  equally  as  incompetent,  or  faithless, 
as  any  that  have  preceded  them. 

The  bank  now  has,  ^nd  at  the  end  of  the  charter  will  have,  its  transac- 


84  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

tions  widely  spread  over  an  immense  territory.  It  will  have  many  detts 
to  pay,  and  many  to  collect.  Until  it  commences  winding  up,  those  who 
have  transactions  with  it  Avill  not  generally  speak  ont,  according  to  the 
truth.  "While  it  is  discounting,  and  accommodating,  it  will  he  popular ; 
but  when  the  hour  for  final  payment  shall  have  arrived,  then  we  will  hear 
of  the  mismanagement,  if  any  exists ;  then  we  Will  find  out  the  had  debts, 
and  how,  and  for  what  contracted.  Every  thing  now  looks  well  upon 
paper.  We  see  that  the  bank  has  in  circulation  upwards  of  twenty  rail- 
lions  of  dollars,  in  notes.  The  sum  due  for  deposits  is  large ;  all  these 
4ebts  are  to  be  paid,  and  with  what?  With  the  funds  in  possession,  and 
the  proceeds  of  debts  due.  No  man  living  can  tell,  until  the  time  ot  col- 
lection, how  many  of  these  debts  are  due  from  solvent  men.  Whenever 
that  time  shall  have  arrived,  the  country  at  large,  and -Congress,' cap  find 
out  whether  this  bank  has  been  managed  well  or  ill,  with  fidelity  or  not. 
Nay,  more,  we  can  then  see,  and  know,  whether  such  a  bank,  in  its  opera- 
tions, is  beneficial  or  injurious  to  society. 

Every' merchant,  long  in  business,  knows,  that  if  he  has  done  a  business 
upon  credit,  he  must,  dt  the  end  of  every  ten  or  fifteen  years,  change  his 
style,  and  commence  a  new  concern,  for  the  purpose  of  being  able  to  wind 
up  his  old  concern — he  must  collect  his  debts,  and  pay  those  to  whom  he 
is  indebted.  In  no  other  way  can  he  tell,  certainly,  whether  his  business 
has  been  profitable  or  otherwise.  If  this  be  true,  in  mercantile  concerns, 
how  much  more  so  is  it  in  the  cas6  of  such  a  bank  as  this  ? 

By  sufiering  this  charter  to  expire,  a  flood  of  hght  Avould  be  shed  upon 
this  subject,  which  would  be  of  great  use  to  society,  and  which  would 
enable  Congress  io  know  whether  a  bank  ought  to  be  again  chartered,  and 
•yrhat  ought  to  be  the  modification  and  improvement  in  the  charter  to  be 
granted.  '  -  ■ 

Again.  If  we  were  disposed  to  renew  the  present  charter,  it  is  too 
soon  to  do  so.  It  has  almost  four  years  yet  to  run^  and  then,  two  years 
are  allowed  for  collections.  By  renewing  now,  we  put  the  corporation 
four  years,  unnecessarily,  beyond .  our  control.  The  main  security  we 
have  for  the  good  behavior  of  the  bank,  is,  that  at  the  termination  of  the 
charter,  a  renewal  Avill  be  refused,  unless  its  concerns  shall  have  been 
faithfully  managed.  Why,  then,  -should  we  give'  up  this  security,  so  long 
in  advance?  All  our  ofiices  of  trust  are  based  upon  the  principle,  that 
the  person  employed  shall  come,  as  frequently  as  convenience  will  permit, 
to  the  power  which  gave  him  employ,  that  his  capacity  and  fidelity  may 
be  judged  of;  and,  if  found  deficient  in  either,  then  a  better  man  may  be 
chosen  in  his  stead.  The  principle  is  the  same  here,  and  yet  this  im- 
mense moneyed  institution  is  to  be  made  an  exception,  and  four  years  in 
advance,  its  charter  is  to  be  renewed. 

The  reason  assigned  for  this  is  entirely  unsatisfactory.  It  has  been 
said,  if  the  directors  had  the  charter  renewed,  they  can  not  only  continue, 


UNIEED   STATES   BANK.  /  85 

but  extend  their  business.  If  not  renewed  now,  they,  must  begin  to  col- 
lect their  debts,  &c.  A  little  reflection  will  satisfy  us,  that  there  is  not 
much  force  in  this  argument.  It  has  always  been  urged,  in  favor  of  this 
bank,  that  the  paper,  in  which  it  deals,  is  business  paper.  If  this  be  true, 
what  does  it  want  with  time  to  wind  up  ?  A  owes  B  five  thousand  dol- 
lars, for  which  he  gives  his  note,  payable  in  ninety,  or  any  other  number 
of  days.  B  wishes  to  use  the  money  presently ;  he  cairies  the  note  to 
the  bant,  endorses  it,  and  has  it  discounted.  "When  this  note  falls  due, 
A  is  notified  that  it  belongs  the  bank ;  he  goes  and  pays  it,,  aad  there 
is  an  end  of  the  transaction.  If  this  be  the  description  of  paper,  in  which 
the  bank  deab,  it  does  not  need  any  time  for  winding  up.  All  that  need 
be  done  is,  to  omit  discounting  when  the  charter  expires,  and  the  debts 
come  in  of  course.  But  if  a  considerable  portion  of  the  business  of  the 
bank  is  done  upon  accommodation  paper,  no  time  ought  to  be  granted. 
It  is  unsafe  to  the  bank,  ruinous  to  society,  and  should  be  discounte- 
nanced. 

The  man  who  opens  a  standing  accommodation  with  the  bank,  a'nd  re- 
lies upon  renewing  his  note,  periodically,  by  paying  the  discounts,  be  his 
business  what  it  may,  will  generally  be  taken  by  surprise,  when  called  on 
to  pay  the  principal,  will  be  ruined  himself,  and  very  often  his  endorsers 
with  him.  -, 

I  fear  very  many  of  the  debts  due  to  this  bank  are  substantially  founded 
upon  accommodation  paper.  Look  at  the  case  from  New  York,  disclosed 
in  the  report  of  the  committee  of  the  other  house — the  debt  was  contracted 
with  the  bank  in  1831,  payable  by  installments,  the  last  of  which  was  only 
due  in  the  fall  of  1836,  six  months  after  the  charter  is  to  expire.  Does 
any  one  pretend,  this  was  anything  but  accommodation  paper  ?  I  speak 
not  of  the  purity  of  this  transaction,  but  suppose  it  to  be,  as  the  fi-iends 
of  this  institution  represent  it,  and  then  say,  I  think  such  transactions 
with  banks  can  never  be  considered  r^l  business  transactions,  but  must 
fall  within  the  class  called  accommodations. 

Examine  the  documents  upon  our  desks,  and  see  the  items  of  domestic 
bills.>  I  am  strongly  impressed  with  the  opinion,  if  examined,  they  are 
substantially  accommodation  paper  of  the  most  ruinous  kind.  On  the 
1st  of  April,  1831,  they  amounted  to  $14,725,923.  On  the  1st  Decem- 
ber, of  the  same  year,  they  amounted  to  $14,853,530,  with  but  little  va- 
riation, as  to  amount  in-  the  meantime.  This  would  scarcely  have  hap- 
pened for  so  long  a  period,  unless  they  were  in  substanca  accommoda- 
tions. I  will  take  the  Hberty  of  suggesting,  how  some  of  these  domestic 
bills  are  probably  brought  into  existence,  and  continued — I  Avill  take  for 
my  illustration,  what  may  be  the  operations  of  ihe  branch  in  my  own 
State. 

A  merchant  needs  an  addition  to  his  capital ;  he  procures  endorsers^ 
and  obtains  a  discount  for  sixty  days.    "When  his  note  falls  due  he  dis- 


86  MEMOm    0^    HUGH    LAWSOK"    WHITE. 

counts  anotlier,  and  by  paying  in  the  discount,  and  applying  the  nett 
proceeds  oi'"  the  last  note,  to  the  discharge  of  the  first,  he  lifts  it.  "Whea 
the  second  falls  due,  he  is  called  upon  for  actual  payment — this  he  can- 
not make,  but  offers  a  bill  upon  his  commission  merchant,  in  New 
Orleans,  payable  in  four  months ;  this  is  received  by  the  bank,  taking  off 
the  discount  and  charging  one  or  two  per  cent. ;  or  whatever  else  is  the 
difference  of  exchange,  betAveen  Nashville  and  New  Orleans.  To  obtain 
endorsers  for  these  notes,  a  guarantee  for  the  bill  of  -exchaSige,  and  to 
procure  acceptance  of  the  bill,  the  borrower  has  to  pay  to  each  of  the 
persons  concerned,  probably  two  per  cent.  His  reliance  for  lifting  the 
bill  when  due,  is  the  proceeds  of  a  crop,  which  he  hopes  to  raise,  and 
ship  to  New  Orleans,  in  time  to  meet  the  demand.  If  he  is  disappointed 
in  whole,  or  in  part,  when  the  bill  falls  due,  it  is  lifted  by  re-drawing 
upon  Nashville,  at  the  same  heavy  expense,  incurred  in  the  first  instance, 
and  thus  in  the  shape  of  domestic  bills  drawn  first  one  way,  and 
then  the  other,  the  accommodation  is  continued  as  long  as  the  man's 
means  of  paying  discounts,  rates  of  exchange,  and  other  charges  con- 
r  tinne ;  and  then  he  foils,  and  when  he  does,  if  a  merchant,  every  farmer, 
to  whom  he  is  indebted,  will  probably  lose  his  debt,  and  if  the  debtor 
was  a  fanner,  he  will  probably  lose  his  plantation,  or  his  slaves,  besides 
injuring  his  endorser.  I  have  no  knowledge  of  any  transactions  such 
as  I  have  described ;  but  they  may^  and  I  fear  do  exist,  if  not  at  the 
Nashville  branch,  at  some  others.  If  such  there  are,  they  are  injurious 
to  the  country,  and  ought  to  be  checked. 

By  permitting  the  question  of  renewal  to  remain  for  the  present,  we 
BhaU  obtain  information  upon  the  subject,  and  three  years  hence  can 
better  determine,  whether  the  operations  of  the  Isank  are' friendly  to  the 
community  or  not. 
*  '  The  stockholders  have  weakened  very  much  their  claims  to  the 
renewal  of  the  charter,  by  some  of  their  transactions  jn  time  past.  I 
allude  now  to  the  issuing  and  circulating  checks,  or  drafts,  for  twenty 
dollai*s  and  under,  in  place  of  notes  of  the  same  denominations.  I  con- 
sider this  as  a  plain  evasion  of  the  charter,  and  under  very  peculiar 
cii'cumstances^.  "When  this  charter  was"  granted  in  1816,-  the  community 
suffered  on  account  of  two  difficulties,  relating  to  the  paper  of  the  State 
banks.  First,  if  the  notes  in  circulation  were  genuine,  they  were  not  as 
good  as  the  sura  called  for,  because  the  banks  issuing  them  did  not 
redeem  tliem  by  paying  specie.  Second,  the  State  banks  were  so  nume- 
rous, that  when  a  note  was  found  in  circulation,  hi  many  instances,  no 
man  could  tell  whether  is  was  genuine  or  a  counterfeit.  The  Bank  of 
.the  United  States  was  intended,  and  expected  to  remove  both  these 
difficulties.  It  was  to  pay  specie,  ftnd  thereby  put  down  all  State  banks, 
wliich  did  not  pay  likewise.  The  frtndanlental  articles  require  that 
every  note  issued,  and "  put  in  circulation,  should  be  signed  by  the 


UNITED   STATE3   BANK.  87 

president  and  cashier  of  the  -principal  bank.  By  having  the  signatures 
of  only  these  two  officers  it  was  supposed  that  their  hand-writing  would 
soon  become  familiar  to  every  man  of  business,  who  would  thus  readily 
distinguish  the  genuine  from  the  counterfeit.  In  the  course  of  a  few 
years,  the  directors  applied  to  Congress  for  permission  to  designate  two 
other  persons  to  sign  small  notes,  as  it  was  physically  impossible  for  the 
president  and  cashier  to  sign  the,  number  required.  Congress  refused  to 
grant  this  request — a  second,  third,  and  if  I  mistake  not,  fourth  applica 
tion  of  the  like  kind  was  made,  and  refused ;  at  all  events  not  granted. 
After  this,  in  the  year  1826  or  '27,  the  directors  searched  in  the  charter^ 
for  what  is  called  a  new  comlinatwn  of  their  powers,  and  these  drafts 
were  devised,  to  be  used  as  substitutes  for  small  notes.  These  drafts  are, 
in  form,  bill*  of  exchange,  bearing  the  signatures  of  the  presidents  of  the 
respective  branches,  addi-essed  to  the  cashier  of  the  principal  bank,  and 
requiring  him  to  pay  upon  demand,  the  amount  specified.  The  circula- 
tion of  them  as  a  substitute  for  notes,  is  a  plain  violation  of  the  charter. 
It  takes  from  society,  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  that  security 
against  counterfeits^  which  was  given  by  the  charter.  "We  must  not,  in 
examining  this  point,  confound  two  things  which  are  separate  and  dis- 
tinct. Whether  the  bank  is  bound  to  pay  these  drafts,  when  presented 
at  the  principal  bank,  is  one  question  which  I  answer  in  the  affirrnative. 
But  whether  these  di-afts  furnish  the  uniformity  of  paper  curuency,  the 
same  security  against  counterfeits,  which  the  notes  would  do,  is  a  very 
diiferent  question,  which  I  answer  in  the  negative.  There  are  now  how 
many  branches  ?  Seventeen  is  it  ?  I  have  not  counted,  l^o,  says  Mr. 
Benton,  twenty-five.  "Well  then ;  the  holder  of  one  of  those  drafts  runs 
twenty -five  times  as  many  risks  of  having  counterfeit  paper  put  on  him, 
as  Congress  intended  he  should  run.  This,  I  say  ought  not  to  have 
been,  and  still  I  have  all  respect  for  the  learned  counsel,  wlio  were 
consulted,  and  who  I  doubt  not  are  entitled  to  all  the  respect  and 
character  which  society  has  awarded  to  them.  It  cannot  escape  notice, 
that  the  stress  of  the  opinion,  is  placed  upon  a  point,  upon  which  I  think 
there  cas\.  be  no  doubt,  the-  liability  of  the  bank  to  pay,  and  the  other 
point,  the  want  of  uniformity  in  signatures  to  the  paper  currency  is 
almost  entirely  overlooked.  My  respect  for  those  counsel  I  know,  and 
for  the  character  of  the  one  I  am  unacquainted  with,  constrains  me  to 
think,  if  the  true  question  had  been  directly  put  to  them,  they  would 
have  given  such  opinions  as  I  now  insist  conform  to  the  true  construc- 
tion of  the  charter. 

For  a  moment  let  ns  examine  the  excuse  set  up  for  this  evasion^ 
"That  the  president  and  cashier  were  not  able  to  sign  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  notes."  Be  it  so  ;  and  what  ought  they  to  have  done  ?  Surely 
not  to  have  issued  these  checks,  they  ought  to  have  signed  as  many 
notes  as  they  could,  and  to  have  used  specie,  when  they  had  not  a  suffi- 


88  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

ciency  of  notes.  This  would  have  confoi'med  to  the  charter,  beeu  very 
acceptable  to  the  public,  and  have  beea  in  furtherance-  of  the  great 
object  in  establishing  the  bank,  that  qf  restoring  to  society  a  specie  cur- 
rency. Besides,  it  would  have  been  actually  testing  the  utility  of  the 
excellent  experiment  spoken  of  by  the  Senator  from  Massachusetts,  Mr. 
"Webster,  that  of  ceasing  to  circulate  any  notes  as>  low  as  twenty  dollars, 
and  using  in  their  place,  a  specie  circulation. 

It  appears  to  me  that  the  use  made  of  these  checks,  is  highly  injurious 
on  another  ground.  The  effect  of  such  a  circulation  in  the  South  and 
West,  is  to  remove  from  those  sections  of  country  the  whole  of  the 
specie,  which  oan  be  collected  there,  and  leave  us  nothing  but  a  paper 
curj-ency  composed  of  those  checks. 

I  assume  it  as  a  fact,  that  every  one  of  those  drafts  or'  checks,  is  upon 
its  face,  made  payable  by  the  cashier  of  the  principal  bank.  They  are, 
tbei-efore,  payable  in  Philadelphia,  and  payment  cannot  be  legally 
demanded  in  the  first  instance,  at  any  other  place.  "What  then  is  to  be 
the  inevitable  result  ?  The  specie  must  be  withdi-awn  from  the  branches, 
which.cii'culate  these  checks,  and  taken  to  Philadelphia,  and  be  there  in 
readiness  to  lift  them,  when  they  arrive.  So  far  as  common  people  are 
concerned,  this  will  never  happen.  No '  man  will  .ever  travel  from 
Louisiana,  Tennessee,  or  Kentucky,  to  Philadelphia  with  a  note  of  five, 
ten,  or  twenty  dollars,  to  demand  the  specie  for  it..  He  would  save 
money  by  putting  it  in  the  fire,  in  preference.  As  matter  of  accommo- 
dation, as  long  as  the  specie  would  hold  out,  tTie  branches  would^  no 
doubt  give  specie  for  thern,  but  that  must  soon  fail,  and  then  the  holders 
will  be  told,  we  have  sent  the  money  to  Philadelphia,  to  lift  them, 
wbither  you  must  go.  We  have  at  present  hardly  any  small  notes  in 
circulation ;  nothing  but  these  checks.  I  do  not  believe  I  have  seen  a 
single  note  for  five  or  ten  dollars  in  Tennessee  for  the  last  two  years. 
No  inconvenience  has  as  yet  been  experienced,  because  you  can  get  the 
specie  for  one  of  them,  in  any  merchant's  shop  you  step  into :  but  this 
must  soon  c^ase :  the  specie  'will  by  the  circulation  of  such  paper  be  all 
withdrawn,  and  you  will  have  a  paper  medium,  and  no  specie  within 
any  reasanalle  distance.  The  very  process  of  Avhich  I  am  now  speaking, 
is,  and  has  been  going  on ;  the  documents  upon  our  table  prove  it.  In 
a  letter  under  date  of  24th  December,  1831,  from  the  cashier  of  the  prin- 
cipal bank,  to  the  cashier  of  the  .New  Orleans  branch,  found  at  page  516 
of  the  report  of  the  minority  of  the  committee,  we  find  this  language: 
"On  every  account  we  should,  from  present  appearance,  desire  to  be 
reinforced  by  all  the  means  which  you  can  throw  into  our  hands,  and 
would  therefore  recoiumend,  that  your  local  discounts  should  be  pru- 
dently and  gradually  reduced — a  course,  which  circumstances  with 
you  evidently  favor ;  and  that  you  should  exteml  your  operations  in  a 
corresponding  degree  in  exchange,  and  atford  us  large  supplies  of  specie 


UNI'JtED   STATES    BANK.  89 

to  meet  your  circulation .^  as  it  comes  in  at  the  Nortli."  Can  anj  one 
doubt  what  this  means  ?  It  is  the  same  tiling  as  if  he  had  said,  your 
circulation,  these  checks,  are  payable  at  the'  North,  Tiere;  send  us  on 
large  supplies  of  specie  with  which  to  pa/y  them.  , 

At  page  205,  of  the  report  of  the  majority  of  the  committee,  we  see 
the  actual  operation,  as  it  is  going  on.  In  1831,  the  amount  of  specie  sent 
from  the  branches  to  the  principal  bank  Avas  $3,628,853  76.  In  1830, 
it  was  $3,653,202  13.  In  182&,  it  was  $2,673,115  97.  In  1828,  it  was 
$2,055,756  78,  and  in  1827,  it  was  $1,787,049  18.  This  is  the  year  in 
which  the  checks  first  began  to  be  used,  instead  of  notes,  as  a  circulating 
medium.  To  me  it  is  obvious,  that  by  continuing  their  use,  and  with- 
drawing the  specie,  we  shall  liave  nothing  but  paper,  near  the  branches 
of  the  "West  and  South. 

It  may  be  asked  what  benefit  the  bank  can  derive  from  this  process  ? 
The  answer  is  obvious.  They  can  extend  their  discounts,  and  make 
more  money.  In  1827,  when  they  began  to  issue  them,  their  notes  in 
circulation  were  upwards  of  $18,000,000.  Since  then,  they  have 
extended  to  from  twenty  to  twenty-four  millions  of  dollars.  The  bank 
can  safely  put  in  circulation,  far  from  the  2^la.ce  of  payment^  a  much 
larger  amount  of  these  drafts  than  they  could  of  notes  made  payable 
where  they  were  issued.  I  cannot  but  consider  what  has  been  done,  in- 
this  respect,  an  evasion  of  the  charter,  liighly  injurious  to  society,  and 
done  under  circumstances  calculated  to  take  from  the  bank  all  claim  to 
a  renewal  of  the  charter.  The  honorable  chairman  of  the  committee, 
which  reported  this  bill,  has  told  us,  that  the  committee  did  not  feel 
called  upon  to  investigate  how  the  bank  had  been  conducted.  Because, 
says  he,  if  a  public  officer  abuses  his  trust,  that  is  no  reason  why  you 
should  abolish  the  oflice,  etc. ;  and  added,  he  had  no  doubt,  if  they  had 
inquired,  it  would  have  been  found,  that  the  bank  had  been  faithfully 
and  ably  conducted. 

While  I  admit,  that  if  a  public  officer  abuses  his  trust,  that  is  no 
reason  why  you  should  abolish  the  oflice,  then  the  remedy  would  be  to 
turn  out  the  faithless  officer,  and  put  a  better  man  into  the  office  neces- 
sary for  the  public  interest,  I  deny  entirely  the  analogy  of  this  case. 
Here  I  say,  if  the  directors  have  abused  their  trust,  and  the  stockholders, 
after  knowing  the  fact,  continue  them  in  office,  the  charter  ought 
to  be  rescinded ;  at  all  events,  it  ought  not  to  be  renewed,  when  i£ 
expires. 

I  urge  these  considerations  against  renewing  this  charter  at  any  time, 
and  especially  at  the  present  time,  in  addition  to  other  conclusive  reasons, 
urged  a  few  days  ago,  by  the  Senator  from  Missouri  (Col.  Benton),  and 
which  I  shaU.  not  repeat. 

The  great  questions  still  remain  to  be  considered  : 

1st.  Is  it  proper,  at  any  time  for  Congress  to  incorporate  a  banking 
company,  vesting  it  with  the  powers  which  this  bill  confers  ? 


90  MEMOIR     OF    HUGH     LAW60N    WHITE. 

T  !|m  free  to  declare,  that  in  preference  to  vesting  such  powers  in  any 
company  whatever,  powers  which  may  be  used  to  such  pernicious  pur- 
poses, even  if  I  believed  I  had  the  power  to  do  so,  I  would  trust  the  well- 
doing of  this  government,  and  the  people,  to  a  specie  currency  alone^  and 
to  such  facilities  as  banks  incorporated  by  the  respective  States  may  be 
able  to  afford. 

It  will  operate  as  a  conductor,  to  carry  off  all  the  eircitlating  medium 
from  those  sections  of  country,  principally  agi'icultural,  where  few  or  no 
stockholders  reside ;  and  place  it  down  to  be  used  in  those  sections  of 
country  where  stockholders  may  be  found.  Take,  for  example,  the  opera- 
tion of  the  branch  bank  at  Nashville.  It  is  now  doing  a  business  of 
from  four  to  five  millions  of  dollars — suppose  it  to  be  four  and  a  half 
millions.  The  common  interest  upon  that  sum  would  equal  two  hundred 
and  seventy  thousand  dollars  jper  anoum.  All  these  profits  are  made 
from  those  living  convenient  enough  to  the  bank  to  be  its  customers.  At 
the  end  of  each  six  months,  they  are  taken  and  distributed  among  th^ 
stockholders.  In  Tennessee  we  have  only  three  or  four  stockholders,  own- 
ing some  Uco  or  three  hundred  shares.  Nearly  the  whole  of  this  sum 
must  thei-efore  be  taken /rp??i  tTiat  State^  and  paid  over  to  persons  residing 
in  other  States,  and  in  Great  Britain.  This  operation  is  to  be' continued 
from  year  to  year,  so  long  as  the  charter  lasts ;  and  ere  long,  will,  as  I 
think,  withdraw  from  our  use  the  whole  circulating  medium  we  possess. 
The  same  effect  must  be  produced  in  every  other  State,  similarly  circum- 
stanced. What  benefit  does  the  bank  confer  equivalent  to  this  loss  ?  In 
most  cases  I  think  none.  Banks  are  generally  of  no  use  in  countries 
highly  agi-icultural.  They  are  of  use  to  those  engaged  in  commerce, 
whose  business  is  increased  by  anticipating  their  funds,  who  handle 
money  freely,  and  can  be  punctual.  The  farmer  whose  profits  are  small, 
and  long  coming  into  possession,  is  generally  injured  by  the  bank,  from 
Avhich  he  obtains  an  accommodation.  The  longer  he  borrows  the  worse- 
he  gets,  and  after  paying  interest  for  several  years,  it  too  frequently 
happens  he  is  compelled  to  sell  his  home,  to  liquidate  the  debt  thus  con- 
tracted. 

Suppose  it  to  be  a  merchant  who  borrows  with  &,  view  to  aid  his 
capital.  "Where  he  has  so  many  to  compete  with,  who  have  capital  suflS- 
cient  of  their  own  on  which  to  do  business,  it  Avill  seldom  happen  that  a 
Bank  accommodation  will  enable  him  to  succeed  ;  most  usually  it  gives 
him  a  false  credit,  which  he  will  use  in  purchasing  produce  upon  credit, 
by  promising  something  more  than  the  cash  price:  eventually  he  fails, 
the  bank  may  collect  its  debt,  eitlier  from  the  drawer,  or  his  endorser, 
but  the  farmer  loses  the  debt  due  for  his  produce.  The  bank  may  give 
the  appearance  of  prosperity  to  the  country,  it  may  enable  people  to  pur- 
chase or  improve  lots  in  a  town,  or  to  build  houses  on  farms  in  th«5 
country ;  but  this  appearance  will,  in  the  end,  be  found  deceptive.  These 
houses  and  lots,  and  these  plantations,  thus  improved,  will  generally 


UNITED    STATES   BANK.  91 

change  owners,  and  nil  the  benefit  the  borrower  will  receive  will  be  the 
honor  of  having  had  an  account  with  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  which 
has  stripped  him  of  his  possessions,  and  thus  prepared  him  to  seek  a  new 
home. 

Believing,  thei-efore,  that  a  charter  such  as  this,  anthorizing  two 
branches  if  the  directors  choose,  to  be  established  in  each  State,  without 
the  consent  of  the  legislature,  may,  and  will,  prove  a  means  of  impover- 
ishing the  citizens  of  many  States  f©r  the  benefit  of  others,  I  cannot,  and 
will  not  vote  for  thrs  bill.  <■ 

It  \S  idle  to  insist  that  we  must  have  this  bank  to  enable  the  farmers  to 
sell  their  surplus  produce.  Take  away  the  bank  to-moiTow,  and  every 
man  who  has  produce  for  sale  will  find,  if  it  is  in  demand,  that  those 
who  wish  to  purchase  will  send  their  agents,  with  funds,  into  the  market, 
who  will  purchase  and  make  prompt  payment,  as  was  the  case  before  the 
bank  was  established.  When  there  is  no  demand  for  the  produce,  no  one 
will  purchase,  whether  there  is  or  is  not  a  bank.  With  the  immense 
capital  furnished  this  bank,  all  concentrated  in,  and  controlled  by  the 
same,  persons,  backed  by  the  deposits,  the  name  and  influence  of  the 
TJnited  States,  this  bank  will  have  the  power  at  any  time  it  chooses  to 
-  exert  it,  to  take  to  itself  all  the  active  capital  of  the  State  ianls,  in  all 
places  not  very  highly  commercial ;  thei-efore  it  may,  and  probably  will, 
be  the  place,  at  which- all  men  of  business  and  influence,  in  the  Union, 
will  do  their  business,  and  obtain  their  accommodations. 

Is  it  to  have  power  to  establish  as  many  as  two  branches  in  each  State, 
without  the  (fonsent  of  the  State,  and  to  withdraw  theni  at  pleasure  ? 

The  directors  of  the  principal  bank  appoint  "v«-hom  they  please  as  direc- 
tors of  the  respective  branches,  and  can  change  them  at  pleasure.  Seven 
directors  at  the  principal  bank  constitute  a  board,  and  four  of  them  will 
form  a  majority. 

Already  it  has  its  operations  throughout  the  whole  country,  presently 
they  will  be  extended  into  every  corner  of  society. 

Suppose  the  directors  to  wish  their  charter  changed,  so  as  to  suspend 
specie  payments,  or  any  other  alteration  made  ;  or  suppose  them  to  wish 
a  tariff  changed,  the  price  of  the  public  hinds  made  higher  or  lower,  or 
any  other  public  measure  carried,  can  they  not  control  the  Congressional 
and  State  elections  whenever  they  choose?  Yes,  less  than  one  half-dozen 
men,  seated  in  the  principal  bank  in  Philadelphia,  will  have  the  power, 
if  they  choose  to  exercise  it,  to  have  the  same  story  in  praise,  or  dispraise, 
of  ^ny  man,  or  set  of  me»,  put  in  circulation  in  every  neighborhood,  in 
every  State  in  the  Union,  at  any  hour  of  any  day  in  the  year,  they  please ; 
and  what  makes  this  power  the  more  terrific  is,  that  no  one  injured  will 
be  able  to  find  out  the  source  from  which  the  injury  originates.  Thus 
any  man  may  be  put  in  or  out  of  oSice  at  the  will  of  this  bank,  and  of 
course  any  measure  carried  or  defeated,  as  these  directors  may  think  will 
best  answer  their  purposes. 


92  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

Again,  suppose  a  man  elected  President  of  the  United  States,  Yiot  dis- 
posed to  promote  the  public  good,  but  to  pursue  his  individual  interest, 
and  that  of  his  friends,  at  the  public  expense,  and  to  have  an  under- 
standing with  the  directors  of  the  bank,  that  so  long  as  he  or  his  friends 
should  continue  in  office,  the  interest  of  the  bank  should  be  promoted. 
Could  he  ever  be  displaced  ?  I  fear  not.  When  you  ari-ay  all  the  patronage 
of  the  federal  executive,  and  all  the  influence  of  this  moneyed  institution 
on  one  side,  and  have  nothing  to  oppose  to  it  bitt  the  ill-arranged  and  un- 
organized action  of  the  common  people,  the  country  may  well  tremble  for 
the  result.  We  have  now  exhibited  a  curious  spectacle  to  the  American 
people ;  the  President  a  candidate  for  re-election,  and  daring  to  speak  his 
opinions  in  opposition  to  this  institution :  it  is  what  I  never- eipected  to 
witness ;  and  let  the  approaching  election  terminate  as  it  may,  the  youngest 
amongst  us  will  not  live  long  enough,  in  my  opinion,  to  •witness  tlie  like 
again.  In  all  time  to  come,  th£  President  and  directors  of  the  bank,  will, 
as  I  fear,  think  alike  and  act  in  concert,  &n  all  subjects  interesting  to 
eithei',  and  doing  so  on  the  days  of  election,  will  be  an  over-match  for 
any  influence  which  can  be  brought  to  bear  against  them. 

I  have  heard  some  intelligent  men  say,  we  would  gain  but  little  by  put- 
ting down  this  bank,  because,  then  the  public  deposits  must  be  made  in  the 
State  bjinks  ;  and  through  that  medium,  there  would  be  as  much  danger 
of  influence  as  from  this  bank.  Sure  I 'am,  those  gentlemen  had  not  suffi- 
ciently reflected  on  this  subject  or  they  would  have  perceived  the  immense 
difference  in  the  cases.  Glance  at  them,  for  a  moment.  If  you  place  the 
deposits  in  State  banks,  yoiir  whole  funds  will  be  divided  aiiong  so  many 
as  to  afford  but  little  temptation  to  any  one.  Suppose  one  or  two  to'  be 
tempted,  by  these  deposits,  to  interfere  impi-operly  in  politics,  the  rest 
would  remain  sound,  and  little  or  no  mischief  could  ensue.  The  number 
to  be  misled  is  so  great,  and  so  divided,  that,  having  no  common,  connec- 
tion with  each  other  there  is  little  or  nothing  to  apprehend.  But  in  the 
case  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  it  must  withstand  the  temptation 
of  your  whole  funds,  because  the  same  institution  is  to  have  your  whole 
deposits.  Again — procuring  the  cooperation  of  a  majority  of  the  directors 
of  one  single  board  aceomplishes  everything  ;  they  would  manage  their 
respective  branches,  and  the  branches  their  customers,  throughout  the 
whole  counnuuity.  The  number  to  be  approached  and  misled  by  the 
executive  is  so  limited,  that  there  is  infinitely  more  to  apprehend  in  the 
latter  than  in  the  former  case. 

Should  it  ever  again  be  our  misfortune  to  be  involved  in  a  war  with 
any  foreign  power,  will  not  this  bank  compel  you  to  make  peace,  when- 
ever it  chooses,  upon  any  terms  it  may  dictate. 

It  will  have  command  of  the  whole  active  capital  employed  in  any 
lanJcs.  Without  money,  we  cannot  successfully  prosecute  any  war.  How 
could  these  fimds  be  procured?  There  is  no  provision  in  this  bill,  or  the 
original  act,  by  which  the  bank  is  bound  to  loan  the  government  one 


UNITED   STATES   BANR.  93 

dollar.  It  is  prohibited  from  loaning  more  than  five  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  without  an  act  of  Congress  to  authorize  it.  But  if  an  aCt  should 
be  passed,  requiring  a  loan,  there  is  no  obligation  on  the  bank,  to  advance 
a  cent,  even  of  your  own  seven  millions^  vested  in  stock.  Suppose  this 
bank  to  have  existed  during  the  late  war  with  Great  Britain,  and  the 
stock  to  have  been  owned  by  British  subjects,  and  by  our  own  citizens 
who  thought  it  so  unjust,  that  they  esteemed  it  immoral  to  tliank  the 
Author  of  all  good  for  our  victories — does  any  man  believe  we  could 
have  procured  a  loan  from  this  bank  ?  No,  sir.  You  could  not  Jhave 
procured  enough  money  to  have  loaded  a  musket,  or  to  pui'chase  a  ration. 
This  bank  now  has,  and  will  continue  to  have,  under  this  charter,  a 
complete  control  over  the  whole  circulating  medium,  in  the  United  States. 
At  its  will,  money  will  be  plenty,  or  scarce.  The  value,  therefore,  of 
every  man's  property,  is  in  its  power ;  it  may  be  enhanced  or  depressed 
at  pleasure.  Shoidd  the  directors,  or  their  friends,  have  property  to  sell 
they  can  make  money  abundant,  and  secure  an  extravagant  price.  Should 
they  wish  to  purchase,  they  need  only  limit  the  discount,  press  debtors  for 
payment,  make  money  scarce,  and  purchase  at  their  own  prices. 

They  will  have  a  monopoly,  in  bills  of  exchange,  both  foi-eign  and 

•  domestic,  and  can  regulate  exchanges,  to  suit  the  interest  of  the  bank. 

They  can  make  premiums  high,  or  low,  to  suit  them,  or  they  can  in  any 

week  change  the  rates,  in  most  cases,  so  as  to  purchase  at  discounts,  when 

they  had,  a  few  days  before,  been  selling  for  an  advance. 

Ml'.  President,  is  it  sound  policy  ?  Is  it.consistent  with  the  freedom  of 
election?  Is  it  just  to  the  rest  of  the  community,  to  create  or  continue,  any 
corporation,  vested  -with  such  powers  ?  Surely  not.  By  the  abuse  of  tliem, 
'liberty  may  be  endangered,  if  not  destroyed,  and  our  property  sacrificed. 
It  is  not  a  sufficient  answer  to  these,  arguments  to  say,  none  of  these 
mischiefs  have  happened ;  the  directors  are  men  of  integrity  and  high 
character ;  therefore,  all  is  safe.  I  say  no.  Tliere  is  no  certainty  how 
long  the  management  of  this  bank  may  he  in  the  hands  of  the  present  direc- 
tors. To-morrow  we  may  have  dishonest  directors ;  those  who  will  pursue 
their  own  interest,  and  that  of  the  stockholders,  regardless  of  the  public 
welfare ;  and  we  are  safe  only  when  no  powers  are  given  which  can  be 
used  to  the  prejudice  of  so'ciety. 

Mr.  President,  there  is  one  other  question  on  this  bill,  wliich  is  surely 
worth  consideration :  I  mean,  the  power  of  Congress  to  incorporate  this 
bank.  The  Honorable  Chairman  of  the  Committee  has  told  us,  this 
question  "  is  gone  by,"  "  is  settled."  It  may  be  so,  with  som,e ;  with  me, 
it  is  otherwise.  I  have  been  taught,  that  "a  frequent  recurrence  to 
fundamental  principles  is  essential  to  liberty."  Why  shall  we  recur  to 
them,  if  we  are  to  give  up  our  own  opinions,  and  make  the  opinions  of 
other  men  the  rale  of  our  conduct.  Acts  of  the  legislature,  containing 
general  rules,  must  be  expounded,  and  applied  to  individual  cases,  by  the 


94  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH     LAWSON    WHITE. 

decisions  of  courts  of  justice.  After  a  settled  train  of  judicial  decision, 
on  any  contested  point,  those  decisions  expounding  the  statute,  in  courts, 
are  as  much  esteemed  the  rule  for  future  decision,,  as  the  statute  itself. 
But>this  is  not  so,  in  any  legislative  body.  I  admit,  everywhere,  jf  a 
man  is  called  upon  to  act,  and  after  exercising  his  best  judgment  he 
is  in  doubt  how  he  ought  to  act,  when  he  can  find  what  other  en- 
lightened men,  acting  under  the  same  obligations  with  himself,  have  done, 
in  the  like  cases,  he  ought,  as  a  reasonable  man,  to  conclude,  he  will  most 
probably  be  correct,  if  he  follows  in  their  footsteps.  But  if,  after  exam- 
ining the  subject  fully,  he  is  convinced  that  they  were  mistaken,  I  deny 
that  he  is  justified  in  following  others  in  error.  How,  then,  can  it  be 
said  this  question  of  power  is  gone  by,  is  settled,  not  to  be  thought  upon, 
nor  talked  about.  Sir,  it  is  not  settled.  It  is  a  vexed  question.  Tliis 
power  has  always  been  contested,  from  the  formation  of  the  Constitution 
to  this  moment.  In  Congress,  in  courts,  in  society,  it  now  is,  and  ever 
has  been,  disputed.  In  1791,  when  the  old  Bank  of  the  United  States  was 
chartered,  the  power  was  denied,  by  those  who  aided  in  framing  the 
Constitution.  The  argument  Mr.  Madison  then  made,  has  never,  as  I 
think,  been  satisfactorily  answered.  But  a  majority  of  Congress  aifirmed 
the  existence  of  the  power,  and  acted  upon  it.  General  "Washington 
consulted  his  cabinet,  and  they  were  equally  divided,  two  and  two.  The 
judicial  decisions  affirmed  the  power,  and  when  that  charter  was  about> 
to  expire,  an  application  Avas  made  to  renew  it^  What  did  Congress  then 
do  ?  Did  it  conceive  the  question  was  gone  by;  settled,  and  that  nothing 
was  to  be  done  but  to  follow  on  ?  No,  sir.  The  power  was  given,  con- 
tested, and  negatived.  Here,  then,  is  precedent  the  other  way.  Thus 
the  matter  rested,  till  during  the  war ;  there  was  then  an  attempt  to  get 
Vig  ahajik.,  and  it  failed.  After  the  war,  at  the  session  of  1815-16,  this 
bank  was  chartered.  But  the  power  was  contested  ;  and  those  about  to 
use  it  were  emphatically  told,  that  in  1811,  they  had  themselves  deter- 
mined, they  did  not  possess  the  power. 

The  judicial  decisions  have  afiirmed  the  power,  confirmed  by  this 
charter,  as  they  did  that  confirmed  by  the  act  of  1791 ;  but  the  opponents 
of  this  bank  cannpt'now  be  told,  that  this  question  is  settled,  with  any 
more  propriety,  than  those  were  so  told  in  1811,  w^hen  then  the  question 
of  re-charter  occurred.  Indeed  I  have  always  thought  the  granting  the 
charter  in  1816,  ought  to  weigh  very  little.  The  time  was  unfriendly  to 
correct  constitutional  opinions,  as  to  federal  poioers.  The  war  was  just 
ended;  those  who  had  struggled  through  it,  had  their  minds  toned  for  an 
exercise  of  federal  powers,  at  which  they  would  have  hesitated  in  time 
of  peace.  Only  the  year  before,  1814  and  1815,  they  had  a  project  for  a 
great  paper  hank-,  which  was  on  the  eve  of  passing.  Would  they  have 
dreamed  of  such  a  power,  in  time  of  peace?  I  think  not.  The  giving 
this  charter,  then,  in  1816,  ought  not  to  weigh  much  on  the  question  of 


UNITED   STATES   BANK.  95 

power.  It  was  an  act  of  necessity^  in  the  opinion  of  a  majority,  and  they 
were  spurred  up  to  the  eSercise  of  this  power,  by  the  contest  through 
which  the  country  had  just  passed. 

Under  all  these  circumstances,  I  think,  I  treat  with  no  disrespect,  the 
opinions  of  enlightened  men,  who  have  aiBrmed  this  power  to  be  in 
Congress,  when  I  say  my  mind  has  arrived  at  a  different  conclusion,  and 
that  I  feel  bound  to  act  upon  the  best  judgment  I  have  been  enabled  to 
form  myself. 

If  then,  we  are  yet  at  liberty  to  examine  the  Constitution,  and  to  form 
an  opinion,  whether  we  have  the  power  to  create  such  a  bank  as  this, 
may  not  those  opposed  to  it  ask,  respectfully,  of  its  advocates,  to  point 
to  that,  clause  which  confers  this  power? 

We  all  know  what  the  answer  to  such  request  must  be,  that  no  such 
power  is  given  in  express  terms,  but  it  is  necessary  that  Congress  should 
jexert  this  power,  otherwise  effect  cannot  be  given  to  other  important 
powers,  which  we  are  obliged  to  exercise  for  the  public  good. 

"We  q,sk  what  they  are,  and  one  gentleman  says — Congress  is  authorized 
to  levy  and  collect  taxes,  and  provide  for  the*  common  defence  and  general 
welfare. 

Another,  that  Congress  has  the  power  "to  coin  money  and  fix  it* value 
and  the  value  of  foreign  coin,  and  to  regulate  the  standard  of  weights  and 
measures,"  and  this  gives  a  complete  power  over  the  whole  monetary 
system  of  the  United  States. 

A  third,  that  the  power  to  coin  money,  emit  bills  of  credit,  and  to 
make  anything  but  gold  and  silver  a  tender  in  payment  of  debts  is  ex- 
pressly taken  from  the  States ;  and,  that  therefore.  Congress  must  have 
the  power  now  claimed,  &c.  These  positions  have  each  been  separately 
examined,  and,  as  I  think  proved,  in  argument,  to  be  untenable. 

In  1791,  Mr.  Madison's  argument  in  the  House  of  Eepresentatives,  and 
Mr.  Jefferson's  opinion  in  the  Cabinet,  placed  this'  in  a  stronger  light  than 
anything  I  covild  say  would  do,  and  on  th^.ir  arguments  I  very  much  rely. 
In  1811,  the  arguments  of  other  statesmen  enforced  their  doctrine,  in  a 
manirer  I  can  never  hopie  to  imitate ;  and  I  do  not  propose  to  fatigue 
the  Senate,  by  repeating  the  arguments  which  they  have  used,  and  which, 
in  my  opinion,  have  never  been  satisfactorily  answered. 

But,  sir,  I  may  be  permitted  to  ask,  if  we  infer  the  power  to  create  a 
bank  such  as  this  is,  what  power  may  not  be  inferred  ?  The  United  States 
have  a  power  to  declare  war — to  have  an  army  and  navy.  We  cannot 
make  a  successful  war,  unless  preparations-  are  made  in  time  of  peace. 
Arms  and  ammunition  are  essentially  necessary — why  not  incorporate 
a  company  to  make  arms,  to  smelt  lead,  and  to  make  gunpowder  ? 
Clothing  and-  blankets  are  necessary  for  yourti-oops — ^why  nOt  incorpo- 
rate companies  to  manufacture  them  ?  Provisions  are  essentially  neces- 
eary  to  feed  the  troops — why  not  incorporate  companies  to  procure  lands, 


96  MEMOIK    OF    HU<JH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

to  raise  grain,  and  to  rear  stock  ?  The  power  to  incorporate  companies  for 
these  purposes  could  be  presumed  with  better  reason  than  the  power  to 
incorporate  a  bank.  ,        ■    . 

We  are  to  presume  that  we  have  a  power  to  incorporate  stockholders 
for  a  bank ;  because  a  bank  is  a  necessary  and  proper  means  to  collect,  to 
keep  safe,  and  pay  out  the  revenue.  Is  it  not  fair  to  say,  if  you  create  a 
bank  for  such  purposes,  we  ought  to- confine  its  operations  to  these  duties? 
But  when  once  created  by  implication,  instead  of  confining  it  to  tliese  ■duties, 
we  confer  upon  it  other  important  primary  powers,  and  the  performance 
of  these  governmental  duties  are  the  least  part  of  its  business ;  mere 
incidental  matters,  hardly  worth  notice.  "We  presume  the  power  to  makje 
the  bank,  and  having  made  it,  presume  we  havethe  power  to  keep  its 
paper  pure,  and  therefore  presume  we  can  pass  laws  to  hang  or  imprison 
those  who  counterfeit  its  notes,  and  the  human  mind  can  hardly  fix  any 
limits  to  the  presumed  powers,  which  may  be  created  from  the  first 
construction. 

In  my  opinion  a  very  erroneous  impression  has  got  abroad,  founded 
tipon  the  supposition,  that  lanh  notes  are  currency.  The  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  never  contemplated  any  currency  as  legal  but  a  metallic 
currency.  No  other  is  constitutional.,  nor  can  any  other  be  tnade  legal. 
-•The  United  States  have  a  power  to  coin  money,  and  to  fix  the  value 
thereof,  and  to  fix  the  value  oi  foreign  coin,  and  to  regulate  the  standard 
of  weights  and  measures. 

•  Fo  State  shall  have  power  to  coin  money,  emit  bills  of'credit,  or  make 
anything  bnt  gold  and  silver  a  tender  in  payment  of  debts. 

From  these  sections  some  have  argued,  the  Constitution  intended  to 
give  Congress  the  power  over  the  whole  currency.  ^ 

I  agree  to  this  position,  and  think  such  was  the  intention  of  those 
who  framed  the  Constitution";  but  the  question  recurs,  of  What  was  that 
currency  to  consist?  I  say  not  of  papier  of  any  description.  It  was  to 
consist  of  metals.,  and  those  metals  were  to  be  coi7ied  in  the  United  States, 
and  their  values  fixed-  Inj  Z«w,.or  they  must  be  coined  in  some  other 
counti-y,  and  their  value  fixed  he're  by  our  laws.,  and  by  the  same  power 
made  currmt.  I  admit  the  currency  we  actually  have  is  mostly  notes, 
either  of  the  Bank  o'f  the  United  States  or  of  some  of  the  State  banks ;  but 
I  deny  that  this  paper  is  any  more  a  legal  currency  within  the  )neaning  of 
the  Constitution,  than  a  negotiable  promissory  note  or  a  bill  of  exchange 
would  be.  Bank  notes  are  used  by  society,  instead  of  gold  and  silver, 
for  convenience,  by  common  consent — ^having  no  constitutional  or  legal 
foundation  whatever  as  a  standard  of -value,  nor  can  any  such  effect  be 
given  to  them  by  either  federal  or  State  government ;.  all  must  agree  that  tlie 
States  have  no  power  to  make  a  man  take  bank  notes  in  payment  of  a  debt. 
I  put  this  question.  Can  -the  federal  government  do  so  ?  I  say  no.  Con- 
gress have  no  such  power.     Taking  such  power  from  the  States,  does  not 


UNITED   STATES   BANK.  QJ 

necessarily  confer  it  upon  the  federal  government,  because  the  Unitecl 
States  have  an  express  power  to  make  metahs  currency,  and  nothing  is 
said  about  a  paper  currency. 

I  admit  Congress  has  the  power  to  compel  their  own  officers  to  receive 
bank  notes  or  anything  else  they  choose,  in  discharge  of  debts,  due  to  the 
United  States,  but  deny  that  they  have  any  power  to  compel  A  to  receive 
from  B  any  description  of  paper  whatever,  in  discharge  of  a  debt  due  to 
him.  What  then  becomes  of  this  power  to  create  a  bank,  because  we 
have  the  power  to  regulate  th«  currency^  when  that  currency  is  to  be, 
according  to  the  Constitution,  nothing  but  s2Jecie  ?    It  vanishes. 

Under  the  articles  of  confederation,  an  express  power  had  been  given 
to  Congress  to  emit  bills  of  credit.  This  power  had  been  liberally  used ; 
too  much  so,  as*was  believed,  for  the  benefit  of  society.  In  framing  the 
present  Constitution,  the  convention  determined  to  guard  against  the 
exercise  of  any  such  power  in  future,  either  by  the  State  or  federal 
government.  Therefore,  by  express  words,  they  took  from  the  States  the 
power  to  emit  bills  of  credit ;  and  amended  the  di*aft  of  the  Constitution 
submitted  to  them,  which  confined  the  power  to  emit  bills  of  credit,  by 
striking  those  words  out.  (Journal  of  Convention,  pp.  75  and  256.)  Thus 
by  taking  from  the  States  this  power,  and  refusing  to  give  it  to  Congress, 
they  believed  society  was  secured  in  a  metallic  currency^  and  guarded 
against  everything  else. 

"We  have  the  express  testimony  of  Mr.  Madison,  a  member  of  the  con- 
vention, of  Mr.  Martin,  another  member  of  the  same  body,  and  of  Mr. 
Jefferson,  a  member  of  President  "Washington's  cabinet,  that  in  the  con- 
vention there  was  an  attempt  to  give  Congress  the  power  to  incofporaU 
a  hanl\  and  it  ^cas  refused. 

The  journal  containing  the  proceedings  of  that  body  is  now  published; 
and  we  find  that,  on  three  several  occasions,  an  attempt  was  actually  made 
to  give  to  Congress  the  power  to  pass  acts  oi'  incorporation.,  and  it  was 
uniformly  refused. 

It  seems,  therefore,  clear  to  me  that  the  convention  did  not  intend  to 
give  the  power,  now  claimed,  to  Congi'ess ;  and  that  we  have  no  right  to 
vest  ourselves  with  such  a  poWer  by  construction. 

In  my  mind,  there  are  many  provisions  in  this  charter  violative  of  the 
Constitution.  The  United  States  themselves  cannot  purchase  and  hold 
lands  in  any  State,  without  the  consent  of  such  State;  yet  this  charter 
authorizes  this  corporation  composed  in  part  of  aliens  and  of  the  United 
States  to  do  so.  The  friends  of  this  biU  have  solemnly  refused  to  insert  a 
provision,  by  which  the  States  can  impose  any  tax  upon  tlie  capital 
employed  within  their  limits,  although  such  States  will  be  bound  to 
protect  the  persons  in  the  employ  of,  and  the  property  belonging  to,  this 
institution. 

The  bill  gives  a  monopoly  to  this  company  for  fifteen  years,  which  is 
not  only  odious,  but  against  the  genius  of  the  Constitution. 


J98  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

It  confers  upon  this  corporation  the  power  of  regulating  the  currency 
of  the  country,  which  is  an  attribute  of  sovereignty  that  Congress  has  no 
power  to  ti'ansfer  to  our  citizens,  much  less  to  foreigners. 

The  whole  emoluments  of  this  bank  will  go  to  these  stockholders-,  they 
have  had,  and  are  still  to  have,  ail  your  public  money,  on  which  to  do 
business ;  and  by  a  vote  of  this  body  they  are  to  pay  no  in  terest  whatever 
for  the  use  of  these  funds.  "VVe  thus  take  the  money  of  all  for  the  benefit 
ofa/ew. 

But  it  is  said,  we  are  benefited  by  a  sound  currency  in  peace  and  in 
war,  and  by  having  an  institution  to  which  we  can  have  access  for  loans, 
in  cases  of  emergency. 

**  How  "is  this  matter  ?  When  we  had  the  quasi  war  with  France,  in 
1798-9,  we  had  a  bank,  and  yet  had  to  borrow  from  individuals  at  an 
interest  of  eight  per  centum.  In  case  of  another  war,  we  cannot  obtain 
loans  from  this  bank,  unless  specie  payments  are  suspended.  Look  at  its 
condition,  after  it  has  been  in  operation  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  in  time  of 
peace.  It  now  has  notes  out  for  upwards  of  twenty  millions  of  dollars, 
owes  large  deposits,  and  has  from  seven  to  eight  millions  of  dollars  only 
in  specie.  In  case  of  war,  suppose  you  wish  to  borrow  ten,  twenty,  or 
fifty  milhons  of  dollars,  could  it  loan  you, and  continue  to  pay  specie?  It 
could  not ;  you  must  again  have  paper  money  or  no  money.  Your  bank 
could  not  hold  out  six  months  and  pay  specie. 

During  the  last  war,  when  every  resource  was  likely  to  fail,  a  bank  was 
thought  of,  and  what  kind  of  a  one  was  it  to  be?  A  paper  banlc.  So 
will  this  be — if  we  have  a  war,  and  are  obliged  to  borrow  a  hundred  mil- 
lions of  dollars. 

Wlio  abused  the  rags  of  State  during  the  war  ?  The  enemies  of  the 
United  States,  not  this  government. 

The  government  sanctioned  the  suspension  of  specie  payments.  It 
was  then  patriotic  to  aid  the  government ;  without  a  suspension  of  specie 
payments,  these  loans  could  not  be  made.  "Without  these  rags,  we  could 
not  feed,  clothe,  or  pay  a  single  soldier.  Paper  money  carried  us 
through  the  War  of  Independence ;  paper  money,  got  us  through  the  last 
war ;  and  if  we  have  another  war  of  much  duration,  we-  wiU  have  paper 
money  the  third  time.  But  as  soon  as  peace  returns,  we  will  do  as  we 
have  done  in  time  past,  woi"k  ourselves  into  hard  vi07iey^  into  a  sound 
currency. 

Sir,  if  we  are  to  have  this  bank  with  these  extraordinary,  and,  as  1 
think,  unwarranted  powers,  it  may  bear  down  all  before  it;  like  other 
institutions,  it  will  use  its  powers  for  the  benefit  of  the  stockljolders.  It 
has  been  said.  Corporations  have  jio  souls.  If  this  one  does  not  injure 
society  it  will  be  an  exception ;  it  must  have  more  soul  and  better  feelings 
than  belongs  to  mortals.  We  need  not  fret  about  the  Tariff",  or  the  price 
of  pubhc  lands;  let  it  unite  its  influence  with  other  capitalists,  and  all 
can  be  managed  as  they  choose.    Look  at  the  inducements  it  has  to  do 


UNITED   STATES   BANK.  99 

SO,  It  is  to  have  all  your  public  money  on  deposit,  witJioiit  interest. 
The  higher  oiu-  taxes,  the  larger  the  deposits ;  the  more  the  deposits,  the 
greater  will  be  the  profits  of  the  bank.  For  the  last  several  years,  the 
II)iited  States  deposits  have  averaged  from  six  to  eight  millions,  of  dollars. 
The  bank  will  have  an  interest  in  not  having  them  less.  If  the  directors 
act  correctly  under  such  strong  temptations,  they  will  be  justly  entitled 
to  higher  eulogiums  than  any  their  warmest  friends  have  yet  pro- 
nounced. 

•  •  ■ 

That  Judge  White's  private  sentiments  were  similar  to  these 
sjwken  opinions,  if  such  proof  were  needful,  would  appear  from  the 
following  letter  to  an  intimate  friend  in  Tennessee,  written  about  this 
time  : 

The  Bank  bill  is  before  the  House  of  Eepresentatives.  It  will  without 
doubt  be  passed  there,  and  there  is  much  speculation  as  to  what  the 
President  vpill  do.  I  do  not  profess  to  know  more  than  others  of  his 
opinion  on  the  subject,  but  am  as  certain  that  he  will  put  his  veto  upon 
it,  should  it.be  presented  to' him  in  the  shape  it  left  the  Senate,  as,  I  can 
be  of  any  future  act  that  depends  upon  the  will  of  one  man. 

We  will  then  see  whether  the  bank  will  or  will  not  endeavor  to  con- 
trol the  election  of  the  next  President.  If  it  does,  I  hope  it  will  open  the 
eyes  of  the  public,  and  enable  every  man-  to  see  the  danger  of  such  a 
moneyed  corporation,  with  such  immense  powers,  and  large  funds  in  a 
free  country. 

From  the  newspapers  it  appears  that  Mr.  Baring,  one  of  our  foreign 
stockholders,  is  spoken  of  as  a  probable  member  of  the  new  ministry  ih 
Great  Britain.  It  is  a  curious  spectacle  that  an  American  Congress 
should  be  incorporating  a  company,  in  which  foreigners  own  eight 
millions  of  stock,  the  United  States  themselves  seven  millions,  and 
private  citizens  twenty  millions,  and  that  at  the  veiy  same  time,  in 
Great  Britain,  a  whig  ministry  should  be  turned  out,  and  in  the  forma- 
tion of  a  new  tory  ministry^  one  of  the  foreign  stockholders  in  this 
American  company  should  be  likely  to  be  selected  as  a  member. 

Much  as  I  hke  money  and  good  company,  I  should  blush  to  see  my 
name  on  the  hst  of  American  stockholders,  but  that  is  only  because  I, do 
not  feel  that  my  God  did  me  injustice  in  not  causing  me  to  be  born  a 
nobleman. 

The  bill  passed ;  and  as  was  anticipated,  the  President  vetoed,  it. 
This  measure  Judge  White  did  not  fail  to  foresee.  He  writes  to  a 
friend,  dated' June  18th,  1832  : 

The  Bank  bill  is  in  the  House.     I  have  no   doubt  it  will  pass. 


1.00  MEMOm    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

'  The  President  will  be  as  certain  to  put  his  veto  upon  it  as  that  it  is  pre- 
sented to  him  at  the  present  session  in  its  present  shape.  I,  of  course, 
speak  my  own  opinion,  without  pretending  to  know  more  than  is  known 
to  every  one  who  has  read  the  public  documents ;  but  I  calculate  upon 
his  course  with  as  much  certainty  as  I  can  upon  that  of  any  man  whom 
I  have  !n either  inclination  nor  power  to  control. 

My  calculation  is,  that  he  wiU  veto  the  bill ;  and  that  the  bank  will 
endeavor  to  defeat  his  election;  and  that  that  attempt  will  open  the  eyes  of 
the  people  as  to  their  dangei",  and  that  they  "sviU  put  down  the  bank 
entirely.  If  they  (the  bank)  should  take  the  veto  and  still  support  the 
President,  it  will  be  their  strongest  recommendation  to  favorable  notice 
at  a  subsequent  day ;  but  this  I  am  sure  they  will  not  do. 

My  arguments  against  it  are  written  and  with  the  printer  to  be  pub- 
lished in  pamphlet.  A  job  printer  is  publishing  them.  I  will  not 
degrade  myself  by  any  intercourse  on  the  subject  with  the  editors  of 
the  principal  papei'S  here,  considering  the  manner  in  which  they  have 
conducted. 

P.  S.    You  may  wash  up  the  types,* it  will  be  a  more  angry  and 

bitter  political  contest  than  you  have  either  witnessed  or  heard  of. 

Again,  dated  July  2d,  1832.  he  says,  of  the  reported  plans  of  the 
friends  of  the  bank  : 

The  chit-chat  is,  that  if  the  President  vetoes  the  bill,  enough  of  mem- 
bers opposed  to  the  bank  will  for  one  cause  or  another  be  absent,  to  let 
the  bank  have  two-  thirds  in  each  House  to  pass  the  bill,  the  veto  not- 
withstanding. I  hope  these  insinuations  are  without  any  foimdation  in 
truth.  It  seems  to  toe  that  such  a  course  would,  and  ought  to  excite 
•public  feeling  to  a  higher  pitch  than  usual. 

July  loth  he  writes  from  the  Senate  Chamber,  to  the  same  cor- 
respondent : 

The  Senate  have  this  moment  received  a  message  from  the  President, 
returning  the  bill  to  continue  for  fifteen  yeArs  the  charter  of  the  Bank 
of  the  United  States,  with  his  objections  to  its  passage.  It  is  a  lengthy 
and  plain  document.  To-morrow  at  11  o'clock  the  Senate  will  proceed 
to  reconsider  the  subject.  If  the  Senate  is  full,  and  the  members  retain 
their  former  opinions,  this  bank  falls  for  the  present. 

Upon  the  receipt  of  the  veto  message  in  the  Senate,  Mr.  Webster 

*  His  correspondent  'was  editor  of  a  newspaper  iu  Tennessee. 


UNITED   STATES   BANK.  101 

opened  the  debate,  commenting  upon  the  President's  objections,  and 
arguing  again  in  fkvor  of  the  bill.  Judge  White  replied,  fully  sus- 
taining the  course  of  the  President  upon  this  important  occasion. 

Judge   White's    remarks,    delivered   July    11th,    1832,   were   as 
follows : 


Mr.  President  : — Pressed  as  we  are  for  time,  I  must  crave  the  indulg- 
ence of  the  Senate,  while  I  attempt  some  answer  to  the  matters  urged  by 
the  senator  from  Massachusetts'to  the  message  accompanying  the  bill,  now 
to  be  re-considered. 

I  rejoice  that  for  once  we  have  a  document  from  the  present  Chief 
Magistrate,  acknowledged  by  the  opposition  to  be  frank,  plain,  and  sus- 
ceptible of  only  one  interpretation.  Heretofore,  the  common  complaint 
from  that  quarter  has  been  that  his  linportant  communications  were  so 
worded,  as  to  be  interpreted  one  way  in  one  section  of  the  coimtry,  and 
a  different  way  in  another.  Here  it  is  admitted  we  have  a  document  so 
worded,  as  to  be  understood  every  where  alike.  The  honorable  senator 
thinks  this  frankness  on  the  part  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  ought  to  be  met 
in  a  corresponding  spirit,  by  those  who  differ  from  him  in  opinion.  Ap- 
proving of  this  course,  I  shall  endeavor  to  be  equally  as  explicit,  in  what  I 
propose  to  say  in  answer  to  his  argument. 

The  senator  thinks  if  the  charter  of  this  bank  fe  not  renewed,  rum  to 
the  country  is  to  be  the  consequence,  because  the  bank  must  wind  up  all 
its  concerns^     This  is  nothing  but  the  old  argument  used  in  1811,  when 
the  then  existing  bank  apphed  for  a  renewal  of  its  charter.     Distress  to 
the  community,  and  ruin  to  the  country  were  predicted  by  the  advocates 
of  the  bank.     The  predictions  were  not  verified.     The  capital  employed 
in  the  bank  was  not  annihilated.     It  still  existed,  and  in  loans  to  indivi- 
duals, or  in  some  other  shape,  it  was  apphed  to  the  uses  of  the  community. 
Debtors  sought,  and- obtained  accommodations  elsewhere ;  as  the  notes  of 
that  bank  were  withdrawn  from  circulation,  their  places  were  supphed 
by  specie,  or  the  paper  of  local  institutions,  and  little  or  no  inconvenience 
was  experienced ;  and  such  will  be  the  case  again,  should  the  charter  of 
this  bank  be  allowed  to  expire  in  1836.     Debtors,  worthy  of  credit,  will 
obtain  accommodations  from  either  individuals  or  other  banks,  and  dis- 
charge their  dues  to  this,  and  as  tlie  notes  of  this  bank  disappear,  their 
places  will  be  supplied  by  specie,  or  the  paper  of  other  banks,  and  the 
mass  of  the  community  will,  in  a  short  time,  hardly  be  sensible  that  the 
operation  of  winding  up  has  been  performed.     We  have  been  told,  that 
in  the  Valley  of  Mississippi  alone,  there  is  due  to  this  bank,  thirty  mil- 
lions of  dollars.     Twenty  miUions  for  loans  made,  and  ten  millions  for 
domestic  bills  of  exchange.     That  the  press  occasioned  by  the  collection 
of  this  debt,  will  be  too  severe  to  be  bornje.   .The  charter  has  almost  fout 


102  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH   LAWSON    WHITE. 

years  yei  to  mn,  and  then  two  years  are  allowed  for  cpllections,  making 
nearly  -six  years.  How  often  have  we  been  -told,  during  this  session,  of 
the  general  prosperity  of  the  country,  and  especially  that  pai-t  of  it  in  the 
Valley  of  the  Mississippi.  If  these  statements  have  any  resemblance  to  the 
truth,  it  ought  to  be  entirely  Avithin  the  power  of  these  debtors,  in  five  or 
six  years,  to  adjast  and  pay  whatever  they  may  owe.  I  must  repeat  wliat 
I  said  on  a  former  occasion:  If  these  debts  are  real  transactions,  the  ad- 
justment of  them  will  be  a  simple  operation.  The  paper  evidencing 
these  debts  will  be  paid  at  maturity^  and  let  the  bank  be  careful  not  to 
discount  when  the  charter  is  near  expiring,  and  the  whole  object  will  be 
accomplished.  If  the  transactions  are  not  real,  but  fictitious,-  and  the 
paper  discounted  has  assumed  the  appearance  of  business  paper  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  permanent  loans,  in  other  words,  standing  accom- 
modations, the  sooner  the  truth  is  known  the  better  to  all  concerned. 
Jhe  community  has  a  deep  interest  in  this  matter ;  false  credit,  given  to 
individuals  by  false  appearances,  is  an  injury  to  society,  and  of  no  actual 
benefit  to  individuals,  and  the  sooner  such  transactions  are  brought  to  a 
close,  all  the  better — the  fewer  will  be  the  number  of  sufferers. 

If  I  'am  not  very  much  mistaken,  this  opinion  was,  s6me  years  ago,  ad- 
vanced, in  a  report  from  a  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  whose  opinions 
upon  such  a  subject  are  entitled  to  the  highest  respect.  But,  sir,  if  wlien 
this  bank  has  been  in  operation  only  fifteen  or  sixteen  years,  the  debta 
have  become  so  numerous,  and  so  large,  that  we  must,  on  the^e  accounts, 
renew  the  charter,  I  must  be  allowed  to  ask,  what  will  be  the  state  of 
things  at  the  end  of  thirty -five  years  ?  "Will  they  not  be  much  worse  ? 
Most  certainly  they  will.  What,  then,  do  gentlemen  mean?  Do  they 
intend  that  this  charter  shall  become  perpetual? — that  this  company, 
foreigners  and  all,  shall  have  this  monopoly  for  ever?  If  this  be  not  tlieir 
intention,  I  must  ask  the  senator  from  Massachusetts  to  tell  us,  at  what 
time  the  institution  can  be  wound  up,  with  less  inconvenience  than  at 
the  ecspiration  of  the  present  charter.  When  will  the  debtors  of  the.  Val- 
ley of  the  Mississippi  be  better  able  'to  pay,  than  when  tliis  charter  ex- 
pires? If  the  argument  of  the  senator  proves  anything,  it  proves  that 
this  corporation  ought  to  exist /or  ever.  Ts  any  gentleman  willing  to  avow 
this  ?  I  am  decidedly  opposed  to  it.  Pay-day  for  these  debtors  must  ar- 
,  rive  some  time ;  arid  it  appears  to  me  that  the  affairs  of  this  bank,  prob- 
ably, would  be  closed  with  less  inconvenience  to  the  community  at  the 
expiration  of  this  charter,  than  they  can  be  fifteen  years  afterwards. 

The  senator  says,  "the  President  alleges  that  the  application  .to  renew 
the  charter  is  premature,  and  thinks  we  ought  not  to  be  chided  by  him 
for  acting  on  the  subject,  as  he  had  directed  the  attention  of  the  nation, 
and  of  Congress,  to  this  subject,  in  his  message  of  1829,  and  in  two  suc- 
ceeding -messages. 

Mr.  President,  to  me  it  is  obvious,  that  the  notice  taken  of  the  bank 


UNITED   STATES   BANK.  103 

in  those  messages,  was  not  to  recoraraencl  to  Congress  to  act  upon  the 
snbject,  at  either  of  tlie  sessions  when  those  messages  were  deHvered,  bat 
as  the  subject  was  esteemed  of  vital  interest  to  the  community,  to  turn 
the  attention  of  all  to  it,  at  an  early  period ;  so  that  opinions  might  be 
well  matured  upon  it,'whfen  the  charter  was  about  to' expire,  and  when  it 
would  become  necessary,  to  act  upon  it.  *     • 

But  if  Congress  ought  now  to  act  upon  it,  because  the  subject  is  brought 
before  us  by  those  messages,  why  was  it  not  acted  on  at  the  sessions  when 
these  messages  were  delivered?  Why  not  at  the  session  in  1829?  The 
senator  has  answered  the  question  with  frankness.  He  has  told  us  it  is 
material  it  should  be  known  before  the  Presidential  election,  whether  the 
President  would  sjgn  the  act  renewing  the  charter  or  not,  because  if  he 
would  not^  he  ought  to  be  turned' out,  and  another  put  in  his  place,  who 
■v^ill,  and  as  the  election  is  to  take  place  the  succeeding  fall,  application 
for  the  renewal  could  not  be  longer  delayed. 

I  thank  the  senator  for  the  candid  avowal,  that  unless  the  President 
will  sign  such  a  charter  as  will  suit  the  directors,  they  intend  to  inter- 
fere in  the  election,  and  endeavor  to  displace  him.  "With  the  same 
candor  I  state,  that  after  this  declaration,  this  charter  shall  never  be 
renewed  with  my  consent. 

Let  us  look  at  this  matter  as  it  is.  Immediately  before  the  election;  the 
directors  apply  for  a  charter  which  they  think  the  President  at  any 
other  time  will  not  sign,  for  the  express  2mrpose  of  compelling  him  to 
sign  contrary  to  his  judgment,  or  to  encounter  all  their  hostility,  in 
the  canvass  and  at  the  polls.  Suppose  this  attempt  to  have  succeeded, 
and  the  Pi-esident,  through  fear  of  his  election,  had  signed  this  charter, 
although  he  conscientiously  believes  it  will  be  destructive  of  the  Hberty 
of  the  people,  who  have  elected  him  to  preside  over  them,  and  preserve 
their  liberties,  so  far  as  in  his  power.  What  next  ?  Why,  whenever  the 
charter  is'  likely  to  expire  hereafter,  they  will  eome  as  they  do  now, 
on  the  eve  of  the  election,  and  compel  the  Chief  Magistrate  to  sign  such 
a  charter  as  they  may  dictate  on  pain  of  being  turned  out  and  disgraced. 
Would  it  not  be  far  better  to  gratify  this  moneyed  aristocracy,  to  the 
whole  extent  at  once,  and  renew  their  charter  for  ever?  The  tempta- 
tion to  a  periodical  interference  in  our  elections  ivonld  then'  be  taken 
away. 

Sir,  if  under  these  circumstances  the  charter  is  renewed,  the  elective  ■ 
fi-anchise  is  destroyed,  and  the  liberties  and  prosperity  of  the  people  are 
delivered  over  to  tliis  moneyed  institution,  to  be  disposed  of  at  their 
discretion.     Against  this  J  enter  my  solemn  protest. 

The  honorable  senator  next  adverts  to  what  the  President  says  on 
the  constitutionality  of  this  act,  and  animadverts  on  wliat  is  stated  in 
relation  to  there  being  two  precedents  in  Congress,  where  this  power  is 
asserted,' and  two  in  which  it  is  denied,  and  then   asserts  that  since 


104  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

the  year  1791,  when  the  first  bank  was  chartered,  Congress  has  never 
denied  this  power. 

Mr.  President,  it  appears  to  me  that  whether  the  President  can  show 
any  recorded  vote  denying  this  power,  or  not,  the  senator  ought  not  to 
he  too  severe  npon  the  executive  for  this  mistake,  if  it  be  one.  When  a 
renewal  of  the  charter  was  applied  for  in  1811,  its  constitutionalitj'  was 
argued,  and  ably  argued,  by  those  opposed  to  it,  and  the  application  was 
rejected.  The  bank  then  applied  for  time  to  wind  up  its  business,-  the 
petition  was  referred  to  a  committee,  wlio  reported  against  the  applica,- 
tion,  alleging  tliat  it  was  unconstitutional^  and  this  report  was  concurred 
in.  Afterwards,  in  1815,  when  a  bank  charter  wa,s  under  consideration 
in  the  House  of  Eepresentatives,  a  inember  from  Massachusetts^  in  his 
place,  then  acting  under  the  same  high  obligations  which  the  PresidenJ; 
acts  under,  arguing  against  the  charter,  stated  expressly,  that  the 
renewal  of  the  charter  had  been  refused  because  it  was  unconstitutional. 
The.  President,  without  doubt,  has  read  this  argument,  and  seen  this 
resolution,  and  if  he  reposed  confidence  in  these  statements,  and  was 
thereby  misled,  which  I  sup^se  he  was  not,  I  submit  to  the  honorable 
senator  whether,  under  such  circumstances  he  would  not  have  been 
entitled  to  milder  treatment,  from  him,  than  he  has  received. 

The  attention  of  the 'Senate  has  been  next  called  to  tiiat  part  of  the 
message,  found  in  page  6,  in  which  the  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Couft 
are  spoken  of.' 

The  honorable  senati)r  argues  that  the  Constitution  has  constituted 
the  Supreme  Court  a  tribunal  to  decide  great  constitutiodal  questions, 
such  as  this,  and  that  when  they  have  done  so,  the  question  is  put  at 
rest,  and  every  other  department  of  the  government  must  acquiesce. 
This  doctrine  I  deny.  ^  Tha  Constitution  vests  "the  judicial  power  in  a 
Supreme  Court  and  in  such  inferior  courts  as  Congress. may  from  time  to 
time  ordain  and  establish."  "Whenever  a  suit  is  commenced  apd  prose- 
cuted in  the  Courts  of  the  United  States  of  Avhich  they  have  jurisdic- 
tion, and  such  suit  is  decided  by  the  Supreme  Court,  as  that  is  the  court 
of  the  last  resort,  its  decision  is  final  and  conchisive  between  the  parties. 
But  as  an  authority,  it  does  not  bind  either  the  Congress,  or  the  Presi-' 
dent  of  the  United  States.  If  either  of  these  co-ordinate  departments  is 
afterwards  called  upon  to  perform  an  ofiicial  act,  and  conscientiously 
believes  the  performance  of  that  act  will  be  a  violation  ef  the  Constitu- 
tion, they  are  not  bound  to  perform  it,  but  on  the  contraiy  are  as  much 
at  liberty  to  decline  acting,  as  if  no  such  decision  ])ad  been  made.  In 
examining  the  extent  of  their  constitutional  power,  the  opinion  of  so 
enlightened  a  tribunal  as  our  Supreme  Court  has  been,  and  I  hope  ever 
will  be,  wiU  always  be  entitled  to  great  weiglit,  and  without  doubt, 
cither  Congress  or  the  President  would  always  be  disposed,  in  a  doubt- 
ful case,  to  think  its  decisions  correct ; — but  I  hope  neither  will  ever  view 


UNITED   STATES   BANK.  105 

them  as  anthofity  binding  upon  them.  Tliey  ought  to  examine  the 
extent  of  their  constitutional  powers  for  themselves ;  and  when  they 
have  had  access  to  all  the  sources  of  information  within  tlieir  reach,  and 
given  to  everything  its  due  weight ;  if  they  are  sa^tisfied  the  Constitution 
has  not  given  a  power  to  do  the  act  required,  I  insist  they  ought  to 
refrain  from  doing  it. 

Suppose  the  House  of  Representatives  to  have  passed  an  act  on  a  given 
subject  for  a  Humbei*  of  successive  sessions,  and  from  want  of  time  th^ 
Senate  had  not  acted  on  it,  and  the  constitutionality  of  such  an  act  to 
come  before  'the  Senate,  would  any  member  think  those  opinions  of  the 
House,  authorities  by  which  he  was  bound?  Certainly  not.  They 
would  have  due^ weight,  and  be  respectfully  considered,  but  disregarded 
in  the  decision  made  by  the  Senate,  if  shown  to  be  incorrect.  In  princi- 
ple there  can  be  no  difference  between  such  cases  and  the  judicial  deci- 
sions. Suppose  the  President  to.  recommend  ever  so  often  the  passage 
of  an  act,  Avhich  he  may  think,  constitutional,  would  the  Senate,  the 
House  of  Kepresentatives,  or  the  Courts,  feel,  themselves  bound  by  his 
opinions  ?  I  think  not.  Each  co-ordinate  department,  within  its  appro- 
priate sphere  of  action,  must  judge  of  its  own  powers,  when  called  upon 
to  do  its  official  duties,  and  if  either  blindly  follows  the  others,  without 
forming  an  opinion  fbr  itself,  an  essential  check  against  the  exercise  .of, 
unconstitutional  power  is  destroyed.  A  mistake  by  Congress  in  passing 
an  act  inconsistent  with  the  Constitution,  followed  by  fi  like  mistake  by 
the  Supreme  Court,  in  deciding  such  act  to  be  constitutional,  might  be 
attended  with  the  most  fatal  consequences.  Let  each  department  judge 
for  itself,  and  we  are  safe.  If  different  interpretations  are^  put  upon  the 
Constitution,  by  the  different  departments,  the  people  are  the  tribunal  to 
settle  the  dispute.  Each  of  the  departments  is  the  agent  of  the  people, 
doing  their  business  according  to  the  powers  conferred,  and.  when  there 
is  a  disagreement, '  aS '  to  the  extent  of  these  powers,  the  people  them- 
selves, through  the  ballot-boxes,  must  settle  it.  The  senator,  if  I  heard  jiim 
correctly,  has  said  that  the  President  has  asserted  that  the  Supreme  Court 
has  no  power  to  decide  upon  the  constitutionality  of  an  act  of  Congress. 
The  gentleman  h^s  not  attended  to  the  message  with  his  usual  accuracy. 
No  such  opinion  is  advanced,  but  the  contrary  one ;  that  eacli  department 
within  its  appropriate  sphere  of  action,  has  the  right  to  judge  for  itself, 
and  is  not  bound  by  the  opinion  of  both,  or  either  of  the  others;  and 
this  I  incline  to  think  is  the  correct  constitutional  view  of  the  subject. 
The  honorable  senator  thinks  the  President  entirely  mistaken  when  he 
supposes  Congress  cannot  deprive  itself  of  some  of  its  le,gislative  powers. 
Let  us  for  a  few  minutes  attend  to  the  view  of  this  part  of  the  subject 
presented  by  the  message  and  then  examine  its  oorr-ectness. 

Tlie  Congress  is  vested  \^'ith  exclusive  legislative  powers  over  the 
District  of  Columbia.  It  tlierefore  has  an  undoubted  power  to  establish, 
within  the  district,  as  many  banks  with  as  much  capital  to  each  as  it 


106  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

chooses.  By  this  charter  it  is  stipulated  that  Congress  shall  not  estaiUsh 
unj  bank  within  the  district,  nor  shall  it  increase  the.  capital  of  existing 
hanks.  This,  the  President  thinks,  is  unconstitutional.  By  this  agree- 
ment the  present  Congress,  and  its  successors,  are  deprived  of  the  powers 
of  establishing  any  hank,  no  matter  how  pressingly  the  public  interest 
may  require  one.  Congress  by  this  agreement  will  have  stripped  itself 
of  all  power  to  legislate  upon  a  subject  during  the  existence  of  the  char- 
ter, whe?a  the  Constitution  had  vested  the  most  ample  power.  Is  this 
constitutional?  Ought  we  to  be  bound  by  such  an  agreement  for  fifteen 
or  twenty  years,  and  permit  the  best  interests  of  society  to  be  sacrificed 
for  the  want  of  a  power  which  the  Constitution  has  conferred,  but  which 
,we  haive  ba;rtered  away?  The  message  supposes  we  are  not  at  liberty 
to  dispose  of  our  legislative  powers  in  this  manner,  and  therefore,  this  act 
is  unconstitutional.  This  is  certainly  a  very  important  point.  If  we  make 
such  an  agreement  we  ought  to  be  bound  by  it,  and  yet,  I  think,  cases 
ijiight  occur,  in  which-  we  ought  not  to  be,  nor  would  we,  be  bound  by 
any  such  agreement.  I'he  public  safety,  the  public  interest  might  long 
before  the  expiration  of  the  charter  imperiously  demand  th^  establish- 
ment of  one  or  more  banks  within  the  district,  and  I  do  not  believe  we 
can  constitutionally  deprive  ourselves  or  our  successors  of  the  power  to 
do  so.* 
The  senator  insists,  that  in  many  cases,  we  derive  our  powers  not  from 

*  The  doctrine  in  6th  Wheaton,  593, 1  think  fully  sustains  the  message  upon  this  point.  It 
Is  as  follows : 

"In  the  year  1797,  the  Legislature  of  Maryland,  among  ether  powers  given  the  Corporation 
of  Georgetown,  enacted,  that  they  shall  have  full  power  and  authority  to  make  such  hylawt 
and  ordinances,  fur  the  graduation  and  levelling  of  the  streets,  lanes,  and  alleys  within 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  saine  toicn,  as  they  may  judge  necessary  for  the  benefit  thereof." 

In  pursuance  of  this  authority,  the  Corporation,  in  May,  1799,  passed  an  Ord  inance  for  the 
graduation  of  certain  streets.  The  first  section  appoints  Commissioners,  and  authorizes 
them  to  make  the  graduation  and  level  of  the  streets. 

The  second  section  is  in  these  words :  "  And  be  it  ordained,  that  the  said  level  and  gradua- 
tion, when  signed  by  the  Commissioners,  or  a  majority  of  them,  and  returned  to  the  clerk  of 
this  Corporation,  shall  be  for  ever  thereafter  considered  as  the  true  graduation  of  the  streets 
so  graduated,  and  be  l/inding  upon  this  Corporation,  and  all  other  persons  whatever,  and 
be  for  ever  thereafter  regarded  in  making  improvements  upon  said  streets." 

A  man  named  Gosler,  owned  lots  upon  one  of  the  streets,  and  made  improvements  thereon,, 
according  to  the  graduation  made  and  returned  to  the  clerk  of  the  Corporation.    In  Septem- 
ber 1816,  the  Corporation  passed  another  Ordinance;  directing  the  level  and  graduation  of 
the  street  to  be  altered.     And  the  Commissioners  appointed  being  about  to  cut  down  the 
street,  by  Gosler's  House,  he  filed  a  bill  to  enjoin  them  from  doing  so. 

In  the  Supreme  Court,  one  question  made,  was,  wliether  the  Corporation  had,  by  the  Ordi- 
nance of  J799,  put  it  out  of  their  power  to  legislate  on  tlie  levelling  and  graduation  of  the 
streets;  and  the  Court  says,  "When  a  Government  enters  intp  a  contract,  there  is  no  doubt 
of  its  power  to  bind  itself  to  any  extent  not  prohibited  by  its  Constitution.  A  corporation 
can  make  such  contracts  only,  as  are  allowed  by  tlie  acts  of  incorporation.  The  power 
of  this  body  to  make  a  contract,  which  should  so  operate  as  to  bind  its  legislative  capa- 
cities for  ever  thereafter,  and  disable  it  from  enacting  a  b^z-lmc,  which  the  Legislature  enables 
It  to  enact,  may  well  be  questioned.  We  rather  think,  that  the  Corporation  cannot  abridge 
Us  own  legislative  power." 


UNITED    STATES   BANK.  10'^ 


express  grants,  bnt  by  oonstruction,  and  asks  how  we  acqnire  power  to 
paL  lawfto  hing  those  who  rob  the  n.aiL  He  says  it  m.ght  be  argue.!, 
that  fine  and  imprisonment  would  be  sufficiently  severe. 

To  this  I  answer,  that  when  an  express  power  is  granted  to  Congress 
to  accomplish  a  given  object,  arid  no  means  for  its  accomplishment  are 
.pointed  out,  then  we  must,  by  construction,  have    he  necessary  and 
•Appropriate  means.     In  case  of  the  mail-robber,  we  have  the  power  to 
ban--  because  we  have  ail  undoubted  power  to  carry  the  mail  and. deliver 
its  contents  safely,  and  unless  tKose,  who  violate  it  can  be  punished 
criminal,  this  grailted  power  cannot  be  carried  into  effect ;  and  as 
putting  to  death  the  man  who  will  break  open  the  mail  and  steal  its  con- 
tents is  a  necessary  and  appropriate  means  for  preventing  such  acts,  Con- 
gress has  the  power  to  thus  punish.     But  this  wiH  not fu™ish  a  precedent 
L  exercising  the  power  to  confer  ,pon  a  bank  created  ostensibly,  for 
pirt)Kc  and  financial  purposes,  a  set  of  powers  and  privileges  not  in  the 
Lst  necessary  or  proper  for  enabling  it  to  perform  any  of  the  duties.to 
be  required  of  it  by  the  government.     '  \    ,    ^      -,,    ^  ..u; 

The  honorable  senator  has  wearied  himself  a  good  deal  with  a  criti- 
•eism  upon  the  word  ^'  monopoly."  He  says  it  is  used,  at  least,  twenty 
tes  i^u  thi.  message,  and  never  correctly.  That  the  act  only  confers 
exclusive  privileges,  and  the  word  monopoly  means  the  sole  poWer  of 

'' Mr' President,  I  do  think  upon  this  great  subject  the  minds  of  states- 
men may  be  more  profitably  employed,  than  in  close  criticisms  upon  the 
defiiiition  of  particular  words;  but  I  am  content  to  take  the  senators 
definition  and  insist  it  is  appropriately  nsed.     The  charter  does  gran  the 
sole  power  of  banking  for  fifteen  years  to  this  company.     They  theretore, 
•have  the  sole  power  of  trading  in  the  manner  pointed  out  m  that  charter 
for  the  period  of  its  duration.     To  make  it  a  monopoly,  the  company  need 
not  have  the  exclusive  right  of  trading  in  everything  ;  the  sole  nght  to  carry 
on  a  particular  branch  of  business,  is  sufficient,  and  as  this  company  is  to 
have  sole  or  exclusive  right,  it  appears  to  me  the  word  is  properly  used. 
tI  honorable  senator  fears  much  mischief  may  follow  from  the  objec- 
tions urged  against  foreigners  owning  s^ock■  in  the  bank,  "nnless  some- 
thing shdl  be  done  to  remove  these  erroneous  imi^-essions.     He  says  we 
areTnterested  in  encouraging  them  to  make  loans  for  pubhc  purposes  to 
the  general  and  State  governments,- and  that  heretotore  it  has  been  our 
pohcy  to  encom-age  them  to  hold  property  among  us 

Mr  President,  this  never  has  been-our  policy  as  to  lands ;  the  respective 
States  have,.and  ought  ever  to  have,  the  exclusive  right  to  ^l^^-™  ^l^ 
shall  hold  lands  within  their  limits.  It  has  generally  been,  and  pi  obably 
eve,  .viU  be,  their  policy  to  prevent  aliens  from  acquiring  freeholds  withm 
their  limits.  This  policy  of  theirs,  we  have -no  constitutional  r,gh  to 
interfere  with.     As  to   onr  pubhc   stocks,  I  think  with  the  senator, 


108  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    "WHITE. 

foreigners  may  well  make  loans  to  the  government,  or  purchase  stock 
owned  by  our  citizens.  Much  benefit  may  result  from  this,  and  we  have 
no  injury  to  fear.  As  to  our  public  stocks,  foreigners  owning  them,  can 
have  no  agency  what^ever  in  creating  them  or  managing  them.  At  the 
end  of  each  quarter, 'the  government  pays  the  stipulated  interest,  and  at 
the  time  agreed  on,  discharges  the  principal.  The  holder  of  the  stock, 
by  no  act  of  his  can  make  his  profits  more  or  less.  But  the  case  is  not 
so  as  to  bank  stock.  Although  the  foreigner  can  n.either  vote  nbr  be. 
a  directoi',  yet  he  can  in  manjj^  instances  have  an  indirect  influence  "on  the 
operations  of  the  bank,  and  by  regulating  exchanges  favorably  for  the 
bank  and  injuriously  for  our  citizens,  can  increase  the  profits  of  the  esta- 
blishment, and  thus  benefit  himself.  "Will  any  gentleman  say  he  is  of 
opinion  that  the  Barings,  who  own  a  million  of  stock,  can  have  no  influ- 
ence on  the  profits  to  be  made  by  this  institution  ?     I  think  not. 

Some  of  the  views  then  in  this  message,  of  the  manner  in  which  this 
stock  may,  and  probably  will,  be  managed  by  our  citizens  and  foreigners, 
are  very  forcible  as  they  strike  my  mind. 

Under  the  old  charter  the  ianlc  could  not  be  taxed  by  the  State  govern- 
ments according  to  the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court,  but  citizen  stock- 
holders might  be  taxed  by  the  States  in  which  they  reside,  for  the  stock 
which  they  hold.  The  assessors  in  Connectiout -applied  to- the  bank  in 
that  State  for  the  names  of  the  stockholders  residing  there.  The  names  were 
not  furnished,  and  the  like  application  was  made  to  the  president  of  the 
principal  bank,  who,  by  the  advice  of  counsel,  returned  a  very  polite 
answer,  declining  to  give  the  names,  as  the  bank  could  not  lend  their  aid, 
to  enforce  penalties  against  their  stockholders.  To  remedy  this  mischief 
under  the  renewed  charter,  provision  is  made  that  the  names  of  the  citizen 
stockholders  shall  be  furnished.  The  President  thinks  that  under  this 
renewed  .charter,  the  construction  will  be  that  the  bank  cannot  be  taxed., 
therefore,  you  cannot  tax  foreigners:  but  that  citizens  may  be  taxed  for 
the  stock  they  own,  therefore  this  stock  will  be  worth  one  per  cent,  per 
annum  more,  to  the  foreigner,  than  to  the  citizen.  That,  with  this  induce- 
ment, foi-eigners  will  purchase  out  all  the  stock  except  enough  to  be  left 
in  the  hands  of  a  few  citizens  who  will  thus  have  a  power  every  year  to 
elect  themselves  directors.  That  this  company  thus  formed  of  a  few 
citizens,  and  foreign  stockholders  will  manage  the  institution  for  their 
o^v\\  particular  benefit  in  time  of  peace,  and  that  in  time  of  .war  it  will 
possess  a  power  dangerous  to  the  government  itself.  The  lionorable 
senator  says  the  message  frequently  repeats,  that  the  institution  may  be 
"dangerous  "  to  our  liberty,  dangerous  to  our  prosperity,  &c.,  but  that  he 
can  see  nothing  dangerous  in  it. 

Mr.  President,  wo  must  ren^ember  that  in  casG  of  war,  this  bank,  if  in 
existence,  mugt  be  our  main  dependence  for  raising  money,  and  yet  tliero 
is  no  provision  by  which  it  is  bound  to  loan  us  one  cent.     Kow  suppose 


UI^ITED   STATES   BANK.  109 

it  to  have  existed  during  the  last  war,  and  the  stock  to  have  been  owned 
by  British  subjects  and  a  few  of  our  own  citizens,  and  those  citizens  to 
have  belonged  to  that  sect  in  politics  who  were  seeking  to  change  our 
federal  rulers — who  thought  it  wicked  to  thank  God  for  our  victories  upon 
eitlier  laud  or  water — who  had  sent  an  embassy  to  this  city  to  request  the 
then  President  to  resign.  Does  any  man  believe  the  Administration  could 
Lave  procured  the  loan  of  one  cent?  Those  pohticians,  J  am  willing  to 
suppose,  were  acting  honestly^that  they  believed  tlie  war  impolitic, 
unjust,  and  wicked;  so  much  so  that  they  would  not  aid  it  with  their  good 
wishes.  Does  any  one  suppose  that  they  would  not  have  iield  it  treason 
against  good  morals,  to  have  loaned  pecuniary  aid  ?  Surely  they  would. 
We  must  then  have  been  without  money,  and  without  the  means  of 
obtaining  any.  Peace  must  have  been  ma'de,  and  upon  any  terms,  dic- 
tated by  tiie  bank  or  by  the  enemy. 

I  put  then  the  questions  to  the  Senate,  to  the  senator  from  Massachu- 
setts, to  answer  me,  if  they  can  see  no  danger  in  this  state  of  things  ?    ' 

The  honorable  senator  next  recurs  to  that  part  of  the  message  which 
speaks  of'  the  bonus.  The  President  supposes  that  this  is  proof  upon  the 
face  of  the  act,  that  more  poAver  and  greater  privileges  are  conferred  than 
■were  necessary  for  the  performance  of  the  public  business  to  be  done  by 
the  bank.  The  senator  thinks  this  smfill  aifair  is  within  a  nut-shell,  and 
that  shell  not  worth  cracking.  That  any  one  capable  of  taking  the  view 
of  a  statesman  would  have  seen  that  the  other  poAvers  were  necessary  to 
make  a  bank  of  any  use  for  public  or  private  purposes. 
.  Mr.  President,  I  have  endeavored  to  expand  my  mind  so  as  to  take  this 
enlarged  view  of  the  subject,  and  what  I  find  is,  that  the  advocates  of 
this  bank,  upon  the  plea  that  the  bank  is  necessary  for  the  fiscal  concerns 
of  the  government,  wish,  by  construction,  to  acquire  the  power  to  create 
a  bank,  and  having  thus  possessed  themselves  of  the  power,  wish  to  use 
'.it,  so  as  to  confer  powers  not  in  any  degree  necessary  for  a  bank  to  pos- 
sess, to  enable  it  to  do  all  which  the  government  may  wish  to  have  done : 
but  through  which  the  stockholders  may  enrich  themselves  and  their 
frfends,  and  acquire  an  influence  greater  than  the  government  itself,  and 
control  'all  our  political  concerns,  in  such  manner,  as  to  gratify  their 
ambition  and  promote  their  interests  to  any  extent  they  may  wish.  In 
short,  it  appears  to  me,  that  in  creating  the  bank,  the  pretence  is,  through 
it  to  do  the  public  business,  and  as  soon  as  created,  the  public  business  is 
a  mere  insignificant  incident,  and  private  emolument  without  limit,  is  the 
main  object. 

But  it  is  said,  we  have  the  President's  project  for  a  bank.  It  is  to  be 
one  without  money,  without  credit,  and  to  do  no  business. 

Others,  before  the  honorable  senator,  have  supposed  the  "President  to 
mean  any  sort  of  bank,  that  could  be  most  easily  turned  into  ridicule.  I 
do  not  know  when  the  honorable  member  has  seen  the  project  of  which 


110  MEMOIB    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

he  speaks.     I  have  never  seen  or  lieard  of  any  such  thing  from  the  Pres- 
itlent. 

The  senator  seems  to  suppose  the  President's  fears  upon  the  subject  of 
the  States  not  being  allowed  to  impose  a  tax  entirely  too  great. 

How  stands  this  matter?  The  Supreme  Coui-t  has  decided  that  the 
States  cannot  tax  the  bank.  This  charter  imposes  no  condition  upon  the 
hank  that  it  shall  pay  any  tax  to  any  State,  and  provides  a  mode  by  \vhich 
resident  stockholders  may  be  taxed  for  their  stock.  What  then  will  be  the 
construction  under  this  renewed  charter?  No. man  can  doubt  it.  As  no 
provision  is  made,  no  tax  can  be  collected.  I  hold  that  in  every  State 
tvhere  a  branch  is  situated — as  the  State  laws  must  protect  the  persons 
who  manage  the  affairs  of  this  corporation,  and  must  protect-the  property 
within  their  limits,  it  is  strictly  j.ust  that  a  reasonable  tax  should  be  paid 
for  this  protection. 

All  this  might  have  been  easily-provided  for.  Althoiigh  Congress  can- 
not coinfer  upon* a  State  tTie  power  of  taxation,  it  certainly  caft  impose  a 
conditidn  upon  this  corporation,  that  it  shall  pay  a  tax  or  the  charter  be 
forfeited.  As  no  such  condition  is  imposed,  the  States  must  lose  the  tax, 
under  the.  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court.  I  take  the  liberty  of  saying 
further,  that  the  reasoning  in  that  case,  if  correct  and  carried  out,  will 
produce  a  class  of  persons  exempt  from  taxation  that  would  be  highly  in- 
convenient. The  principle  established  is,  that  the  bank  is  necessary  for  the 
federal  government.  That. the  State  government  is  an  adversary  power, 
and  if  allowed  the  power  to  tax,  could  tax  so' heavily  as  ta  exclude  the 
bank  and  branches  from,  the  States.  Carry  out  the  same  principle,  and 
you  must  exempt  from  State  tiaxation  tlie  houses  and  the  property,  of 
every  other  federal  officer  of  every  grade.  If  the  bank  is  necessary 
to  the  United  States  in  an  individual  State,  and  that  State  cannTat  tax  it, 
because  it  may,  by  taxing,  exclude  it,  I  ask,  are  not  federal  judges  neces- 
sary— marshals,  clerks,  collectors,  and  a-host  of  officers  ?  Why  shall  the 
States  tax  them'  or  their  property  ?  They  may  be  taxed  out  of  tlie  States 
by  this  adversary  power,  and,  -therefore,  they  must  be  freed  from  taxa- 
tion. I  am  not  pi;epared  to  yield  my  assent  to  a  doctrine  leading  to  such 
a  result.  The  President  must  be  right  in  wishing  to  preserve  for  the 
States  all  the  powers  of  taxation,  which  they  have  not  in  express  terms 
surrendered  in  the  Constitution ;  these -are  few.  He  feaj's,' imports  and 
exports.  The  objects  of  taxation  are  only  limited  by  their  discretion — 
persons,  and  property  of  every  description,  real  and  personal,  corporeal 
and  incorporeal,  with  the  exception  mentioned,  are,  and  of  riglit  ought 
to  be,  liable  to  State  taxation ;  yet,  under  the  ciiarter,  they  will  be  de- 
prived of  it  for  Avant  of  some  such  provision'as  it  was  attempted  to. in- 
troduce hei-e,  and  was  i-ejected.    / 

The  honorable  member  has  alluded  to  that  part  of  the  message  which 
speaks  of  the  investigation  of  the  bank  being  unwillingly  yielded,  and  at 


UNITED    STATES   BANK.  Ill 

the  same  time,  lie  says,  as  it  does  not  ajlude  to  this  branch  of  the  legis- 
lature, we  cannot  notice  it.     ■  . 

Sir,  is  not  the  statement  true?  Was  not  the  creation  of  a  committee 
opposed  ?  The  bunk  had  its  -agents  here  no  doubt.  Gentlemen  of  the 
House,  confiding  in  the  statements  of  the  agents,  thought  the  investiga- 
tion useless,  therefore  •  they  opposed  it,  It  was  unwillingly  yielded. 
Who  is  blamed  for  this"  in  the  message  ?  Not  the  House — not  the  mem- 
bers of  the  House — let  any  candid  mind-  examine  the  Avhole  paragraph, 
and  he- must  see,  it  is  those  who  applied  for  a  renewal  of  the  charter,  and 
persisted  in  the  application  after  this  limited  and  unsatisfactory  examin- 
ation. The  honorable  senator  thinks  the  message  is  unfortunate,  in  as- 
cribing to  (the  patriots  of  the  Kevolution  the  spirit  of  compromise,  which 
ought  not  to  be  imitated.  Mr.  President,  if  the  message  did  read  as  the 
senator  has  read  it,  it  would  have  been  substantially  correct.  The  lead- 
ing patriots  of  the  Eevolution,  were  the  leading  men  in  framing  and 
adopting  the  Constitution ;  and,  it  is  the  spirit  of  compromise,  which 
these  men  manifested  in  adopting  the  Constitution,  which  we  are  called 
upon  to  imitate — not  that  displayed  during  the  Eevolution  in  fighting  the 
enemy-— but  the  paragraph  was  misread  by  the  senator,  no  doubt  unin- 
tentionally, and  furnishes  no  color,  when  correctly  read,  for  the  criticism 
we  have  heard  upon  it. 

It  has  been  argued,  that  it  is  strange  the  message  should  intimate  that 
the  executive  ought  to  have  been  called  upon  for  a  draft  of  the  project 
of  a  bank,  I  submit,  Mr.  President,  that  it  is  not  at  all  strange.  In  every 
instance,  heretofore,  the  bank  projects  have  proceeded  from  the  treasury, 
and  so  they  ought.  Although  the  bank  establislied  in  General  Washing- 
ton's day  may  have  been  the  best  that  could  be  devised,  as  tilings  then 
were;  yet,  the  increase  of  population — numerous  changes  in  almost  every 
thing-^raight  make  it  a  very  unsuitable  plan  at  this  time.  The  Secretary 
cf  the  Treasury,  whose  duty  it  is  to  wateh  the  finances  of  the  country, 
and  the  operations  of  the  bank,  could  better  judge  of 'the  details  jjroper 
for  a  bill,  than  any  other  ofiicer;  and  now,  as  in  time  past,  ought  to  have 
been  consulted. 

Mr.  President : — In  submitting  this  message,  one  of  the  highest  duties 
of  the  Chief  Magistrate  has  been  performed.  Under  peculiar  and  trying 
circumstances,  he  has  given  his  sentiments,  plainly,  and  frankly,  as  he 
believed  his  duty  required. 

When  the  excitement  of  the  time  in  which  we  act,  shall  have  passed 
away,  and  the  historian  and  biographer  shall  be  employed  in  giving  his 
account  of  the  acts  of  our  most  distinguished  public  men,  and  comes  to 
the  name  of  Andrew  Jackson,  when  he  shall  have  recounted  all  the  great 
and  good  deeds  done  by  this  man,  in  the  course  of  a  long  and  eventful  life, 
,and  tlie  circumstances  under  which  this  message  was  communicated,  shall 
have  been  stated,  the  conclusion  will  be,  that,  in  doing  this,  he  has  shovvu 


112  MEMOIE    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

a  •willingness  to  risk  more  to  promote  the  happiness  of  his  fellow-men, 
and  to  secure  their  liberties,  than  by  the  doing  of  any  other  act  whatever. 

That  tlie  arguments  above  set  forth  were  conclusive,  may  be  infer- 
red from  the  circumstance  that  Webster,  having  made  the  first  speech, 
after  being  responded  to  by  Judge  White,  refused  to  close  the  debate. 
Judge  White  writes  next  day. 

The  veto  message  on  the  subject  of  re-chartering  the  bank  was  taken 
tip  for  considfiration  in  the  Senate  yesterday.  Mr.  Webster  opened  the 
debate.  He  openly  avowed-  that  this  time  was  selected  for  applying  for  a 
renewal  of  the  charter,  that  the  opinion  of  the  executive  be  known,  to 
the  end  that  if  adverse  to  the  bank,  he  might  be  displaced  at  the  ap- 
proaching election.  This  declaration  was  followed  up  and  afSrmed  by 
Ewing,  Holmes,  and  Clayton,  who  all  spoke  on  the  satne  side  yesterday. 

It  is  no  longer  a  question  of  doubt,  whether  the  bank  is  disposed  to  in- 
terfere in  the  approaching  election.  "We  have  it  openly  avowed  in  the 
Senate  by  the  advocates  of  the  charter.  Those  who  are  opposed  to  the 
renewal  of  the  charter,  have  'sustained,^  and  will  continue  to  sustain,  as 
well  as  they  can,  the  opinion  of  the  President  upon  the  subject. 

Ko  one  has  spoken  in  support  of  the  message  except  your  humble  cor- 
respondent. What  he  said  is  so  inaccurately  reported  in  the  IntelHgencer 
of  the  morning,  that  he  will  be  compelled  to  write  out  before  he  leaves 
Washington,  what  he  actually  did  say. 

in  3833,  when  by  order  of  President  Jackson,  the  public  deposits 
were  removed  from  the  United  States  Bank,  and  placed  in  certain 
State  Banks,  in  consequence  of  which  jneasure  the  country,  was 
plunged  from  a  condition  of  unprecedented  prosperity  into  sudden  and 
wide-spread  adversity,  Mr.  Webster,  as  a  means  of  relief  to  the  com- 
mercial community,  moved  in  the  Senate,  in  the  latter  half  of  the 
session  of  1834,  for  leave  to  bring  in  a  bill  to  extend  the  charter  of 
the  bank  for  six  years,  from  and  after  March  3d,  1836.  He  accom- 
panied the  application  by  a  speech  of  great  ability,  and  was  followed 
by  Mr.  Calhoun,  Mr.  Wright,  and  Mr.  lienton,  each  presenting  his 
own  views.on  the  subject.-  Judge  White. considered  .the  opportunity  a 
suitable  one  for  .the  statement  of  some  of  his  own  opinions  relating  to 
the  bank,  its  management,  the  conduct  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury in  removing  the  deposits,  and  that  of  the  President  in  removing 
Mr.  Duane. 

Mr.  White's  speech,  delivered  March  24,  1834,  was  as  follows  : 


UNITED   STATES   BANK.  113 

Mr.  President:  "When  a  subject  of  so  much  importance  is  under  consi- 
deration ;  when  topics  are  discussed  wbich  produce  a  diversity  of  opinion, 
not  only  as  to  tlie  powers  conferred  upon  the  federal  government,  but 
also,  as  to  the  manner  in  whjqh  the  powers  certainly  conferred,  are  dis- 
tributed among  the  several  departments ;  and  when  our  decision  may 
vitally  aflect,  as  well  the  fiscal  concerns  of  the  government,  as  the  pe- 
cuniary interests  of  all  classes  of  the  community,  I  am  unwillin"-  to  record 
my  vote  until  I  shall  have  given  some  of  the  reasons,  at  least,  which- 
lea,d  to  them. 

I  am  pleased  that  the  honorable  senator  from  Massachusetts  has  asked 
leave  to  introduce  this  bill ;  not  because  I  approve  of  it,  but  because  it 
offers  something  practical,  which  we  can  discuss,  consider,  and  decide. 

If  the  bill  proposed  contained  any  principle,,  which,  under  any  modifi- 
cation, I  believed  we  had  a  power  to  enact  into  a  law,  I  would  most 
willingly  extend  the  usual  courtesy  of  granting  leave  to  introduce  it. 
although  I  might  disapprove  all  its  details ;  but,  in  my,  judgment,  its 
object  is  to  do  that  whroh,  by  the  Constitution,  we  have  no  power  to  do. 
The  sole  object  is,  to  extend  the  charter  of  the  present  Bank  of  the 
United  States,  under  certain  modifications,  for  the  term  of  six  years  after 
the  3d  of  March,  1836,  when  the  existing  charter  will  expire. 

Jt  is  said^the  counti-y  is  distressed  in  consequence  of  the  derangement 
of  our  currency,  and  the  object  of  this  bill  is  to  relieve  that  distress,  by 
extending  the  charter.  If  leave  is  granted  to  introduce  the  bill,  the  hope 
Avill  be  indulged,  that  in  due  season  the  bill  will  be  passed  into  a  law,  and 
the  relief  desired  be  thus  afforded.  "We  ought  not,  in  my  opinion,  even 
by  our  silence,  to  encourage  any  expectation,  or  hope,  which  we  do  not 
intend  to  make  good. 

Entertaining  the  opinions  which  I  do,  in  relation  to  this  bank,  I  cannot 
sikntly  acquiesce  in  the  introduction  of  this  bill,  without  creating  expec- 
tations which,  so  far  as  is  in  my  power,  I  should  certainly  disappoint ; 
therefore,  I  hope,  when  I  deny  the  leave  asked,  my  conduct  may  not  be  ' 
attributed  to  a  willingness  to  act  otherwise  than  courteously,  toward  the 
honorable  senator  who  has  submitted  the  motion. 

I  hold  that,  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  Congress  has  no 
power  to  create  a  bank,  and  having  no  power  to  create  it,  we  have  no 
power  to  continue  it  beyond  the  period  hmited  for  its  termination. 

I  wish  the  Senate  not  to  be  alarmed,  from  a  belief  that  I  am  about  to 
weary  their  patience,  or  exhaust  my  own  strength,  by  an  elaborate  argu- 
ment to  prove  the  truth  of  this  position. 

I  am  well  aware  that  this  question  has  been  repeatedly  and  ably  dis- 
cussed, in  Congress,  and  before  our  highest  judicial  tribunals,  and  that 
many  of  the  most  enlightened  and  pure  men  we  have  ever  hafl  in  public 
employ,  have  affirmed  the  existence  of  this  power ;  yet,  I  consider  the 
question  unsettled.     The  power  has  always  been  questioned  and  disputed ; 

8 


114  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    "WHITE. 

it  never  has  been  yielded.  The  decisions  are  not  binding  as  authorities, 
when  Congress  is  called  upon  to  exercise  the  power.  If  we  are  certain 
we  do  not  possess  it,  or  it  is  doubtful  whether  we  do,  jt  ought  not  to  be 
exercised. 

Those  who  affirm  the  existence  of  this  power,  do  not  pretend  that  in 
the  Constitution  it  is  expressly  granted,  but  rely  upon  that  clause  of 
the  8th  section,  1st  article,  which  provides  that  "  Congress  shall  have 
power  to  pass  all  laws  necessary  and  proper  to  carry  into  efFe,ct  the  powers 
expressly  granted."  They  next  say  that,  by  the  5th  paragraph  of  the 
same  section,  Congress  has  an  expi*ess  grant  of  power  "  to  coin,  money, 
and  to  fix  the  value  thereof,  and  the  value  of  foreign  coin,  and  to  regulate 
the  standard  of  weights  and  measures."  Hence,  they  argue  that  ki  was 
the  intention  to  vest  in  Congress  the  whole  power  over  the  monetary 
system  of  the  United  States,  and  that  this  cannot  be  done  without  giving 
a  power  to  incorporate  a  bank.  I  admit  it  was  intended  to  vest  the 
whole  power  in  Congress,  over  our  money^  our  currency^  but  deny  that 
there  is  any  necessity  for  a  bank'  to  give  effect  to  this  power. 

By  the  10th  section,  1st  article,  it  is  said,  "no  State  shall  coin  money, 
emit  bills  of  credit,  make  anything  but  gold  and  silver  a  tender  in  pay- 

-ment  of  debts ;  pass  any  bill  of  attainder,  ex  post  facto  law,  or  law  impair- 
ing the  obligation  of  contracts." '  Before  the  formation  of  this  Constitution, 
much  injury  was  supposed  to  have  resulted  from  the  power  which  the 
individual  States  possessed  and  exej-cised,  of  emitting  bills  of  credit; 
therefore,  this  power  is  taken  from  the  States,  by  express  words.  The 
federal  government  has  no  power  but  that  which  is  expressly  given,  as 
is  said  in  the  tenth  amendment  to  the  Constitution.  There  is  no  power 
given,  in  any  part  of  that  instrument,  to  emit  bills  of  credit.  Since  the 
adoption  of  this  Constitution,  the  power  to  emit  bills  of  credit  is  extinct 
in  the  United  States.  The  State  governments  cannot  exercise  it,  because 
it  is  expressly  taken  away ;  the  federal  government  cannot  exercise  it, 
because  it  is  not  given  to  it;  therefore  this  evil  of  a  paper  currency  is 
effectually  cured.  Before  the  adoption  of  this  Constitution  the  States  had 
a  power  to  make- articles  of  produce,  or  merchandise,  a  tender  in  payment 
of  debts.  This  power,  in  some  of  the  States,  had  been  exercised.  It  is 
also  extinguished  under  the  present  Constitution. 

Formerly,  there  was  a  want  of  uniformity  in  the  value  of  the  same 
piece  of  money,  in  the  diffei'ent  States:  in  some,  a  dollar  was  four  shil- 
lings and  eightpence;  in  anjther,  six  shillings;  in  others,  seven  and  six- 
pence ;  and  in  some  others,  eight  shillings.     This  was  an  evil  cured  by 

..this  Constitution.  Congress  has  the  power  to  "  coin  money  and  fix  its 
value,  and  the  value  of  foreign  coin;"  and  the  power  to  coin  money,  in 
future,  is  denied  to  the  States.  Thus,  uniformity  iii  value  is  produced  : 
a  dollar  in  one  State,  is  a  dollar,  and  no  more,  in  every  other.  Weights 
and  measures  were,  and.  might  be  varied  in  different  States.     The  power 


UNITED    STATES    BANK.  l)f$ 

to  regulate  the  standard  of  "weights  and  measures  is  given  to  Congress: 
when  exercised,  uniformity  in  each  State  is  produced ;  a  bushel  of 
■wheat  must  bo  of  the  same  quantity,  and  an  hundred  pounds  of  hemp  or 
tobacco,  must  be  of  the  same  weight,  in  each  State. 

By  these  differeat  provisions,  the  whole  people  of  the  United  States 
were  intended  to  be  secured,  in  a  uniform  currency^  a  uniform  standard 
of  weights  and  measures,  and  the  same  provisions  contain  a  prohibition 
against  making  anything  but  gold  and  silver  a  tender  in  payment  of  debts, 
and  a  denial  of  any  power  to  pass  a  law  to  impair  the  obligation  of 
contracts. 

What  species  of  currency  then,  I  ask,  was  intended?  Metallic  and 
nothing  else.  Money  coined^  and  the  value  fixed^  under  the  authority  of 
Congress,  or  foreign  com,  the  value  of  which  is  fixed  by  the  same  power. 
"Will  any  gentleman  state,  that  in  his  opinion,  either  Congress,  or  a  State 
legislature,  has  a  power,  under  our  Constitution,  to  make  one  individual 
receive  from  another  anything  but  a  metallic  currency^  in  discliarge  of  a 
debt  due  ? 

The  opinion  that  Congress  has  no  power  to  create  a  bank,  is,  as  I 
think,  very  much  strengthened,  when  we  reflect  Avhere  the  convention, 
sat,  when  it  sat,  and  what  was  going  on  in  relation  to  banks. 

The  Bank  of  North  America  commenced  business  in  January,  1782,  in 
Philadelphia.  It  had  a  double  authority,  as  was  supposed,  for  so  doing 
— from  Congress,  and  from  the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania.  In  1785,  it 
had  become  so  odious,  that  several  counties  petitioned  the  legislature  to 
repeal  the  charter.  These  petitions  were  referred  to  a  committee,  who 
made  a  report,  upon  which,  an  act  'did  pass,  repealing  the  charter,  with- 
out giving  the  corporators  any  form  of  trial  Avhatever.  This  gave  rise  to 
a  lunst  violent  controversy,  in  the  course  of  which  there  were  many 
publications.  The  bank  still  continued  its  business,  under  the  power  it 
had  derived  from  Congress.  In  1786,  an  attempt  was  made  in  the  legis- 
lature, to  repeal  the  repealing  act,  but  this  attempt  was  successfully 
resisted  by  the  democrats  of  that  day,  headed  by  Finley  and  Smilie,  and 
the  confusion  continued  till  the  next  year,  when  a  limited  charter  for 
fourteen  yeafi's  was  granted.  Thus  we  find  at  the  very  time  the  conven- 
tion sat,  and  in  the  very  place  it  sat,  the  practical  operations  of  the  bank 
of  that  day,  were  considered  decidedly  hostile  to  the  liberty  and  inde- 
pendence of  the  country.  Is  it  then  probable  that  it  was  intended  to 
vest  a  power  in  Congress  to  create  any  institution  capable  of  so  much, 
mischief?  ■  '  '       •■ 

I  have  looked  into  the  petitions  presented  to  the  legislature,  and  the 
report  of  the  committee,  to  ascertain  the  objections  upon  Avhich  the 
repealing  act  was  founded,  and  have  been  so  forcibly  struck  with  the 
similarity  of  the  reasons  then  urged,  with  those  since  relied  upo.n,  that  I 
must  ask  the  indulgence  of  the  Senate,  while  I  read  the  report,  a  copy  of 


116  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

whicli  is  before  me,  in  tliese  words :  "That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  com- 
mittee, tliat  tlie  said  bank,  as  at  present  established,  is  in  every  view 
incompatible  with  the  public  safety;  that  in  the  present  state  of  our 
trade,  the  said  bank  has  a  direct  tendency  to  banish  a  great  part  of  the 
specie  from  the  country,  so  as  to  produce  a  scarcity  of  money,  and  to 
collect  into  the  hands  of  the  stockholders  of  the  said  bank,  almost  the 
whole  of  the  money  which  remains  amongst  us.  That  the  accumulation 
of  enormous  wealth,  in  the  hands  of  a  society  who  claim  pei-petual  dura- 
tion, will  necessarily  produce  a  degree  of  influence  and  power,  which 
cannot  be  intrusted  in  the  hands  of  any  set  of  men  whatsoever,  without 
endangering  the  public  safety.  That  the  said  bank,  in  its  corporate 
capacity,  is  empowered  to  hold  estates,  to  the  amount  of  ten  millions  of 
dollars,  and  by  the  tenor  of  the  present  charter,  is  to  exist  for  ever,  with- 
out being  obliged  to  yield  any  emolument  to  the  government,  or  to  be  at 
all  dependent  upon  it.  That  the  great  profits  of  the  bank,  which  will 
daily  increase,  as  money  grows  scarcer,  and  which  already  far  exceed  the 
profits  of  European  banks,  have  tempted  foreigners  to  vest  their  money  iu 
this  bank,  and  thus  to  draw  from  us  large  sums  of  interest. 

"Tliat  foreigners  will,  doubtless,  be  more  and  more  induced  to  become 
stockholders,  until  the  time  may  arrive,  when  this  enormous  .engine  of 
power  may  become  subject  io  foreign  influence;  this  country  may  be 
agitated  with  the'  politics  of  European  courts,  and  the  good  people  of 
America  reduced,  once  more,  to  a  state  of  subordination  and  dependence 
upon  some  one  or  othex  of  the  European  powers.  That  at  last,  even  if  it 
were  confined  to  the  hands  of  Americans,  it  would  be  totally  destructive 
of  that  equality^  which  ought  to  prevail  iu  a  republic.  We  have  nothing 
in  our  free  and  equal  government,  capable  of  balancing  the  influence  the 
bank  must  create ;  and  we  see  nothing,  which,  in  the  course  of  a  few 
years,  can  prevent  the  directors  of  the  bank  from,  governing  Pennsyl- 
vania. Already  we  have  felt  its  influence,  directly  interfering  in  the 
measures  of  the  legislature.  Already  the  House  of  Assembly,  the, 
representatives  of  the  people,  have  been  threatened,  that  the  credit  of 
our  paper  currency  wiU  b&  blasted  by  the  bank ;  and  if  this  growing 
evil  c'ontinues,  we  fear  the  time  is  not  very  distant  when  the  bank 
will  be  able  to  dictate  to  the  legi.slature,  what  lavrs  to  pass,  and  what  to 
forbear." 

Much  has  been  said  of  the  President's  opinions  upon  the  subject  of 
baaks,  and  hisxideas  respecting  the  dangea-s  to  be  apprehended  from  the 
operations  of  this  bank,  lie  appears  to  be  maintaining  the  same 
doctrines  maintained  by  the  republican  people  of  Pennsylvania  in  1785, 
178&,  and  1787;  and,  as  I  verily  believe,  the  same  doctrines  intended  to 
be  incorporated  into  the  Constitution,  and  made  perpetual  by  it.    , 

It  seents  to  bo  thought  by  the  honorable  senator  from  South  Carolina 
[Mr.  Calhoun],  that  althougli  we  cannot  establish  a  bank  to  make  money ^ 


N       UNITED    STATES   BANK.  117 

we  may,  to  have  a  currency,  "wliich  -will  control  the  currency  of  State 
banks.     I  find  no  warrant  in  the  Constitution  for  any  such  distinction. 
[Here  Mr.  Callioun  interrupted  Mr.  Wliito,  and  said  he  had  taken  a 
distinction  between  doing  and  undoing.]     Mr.  W.  continued,  and  said,  I 
hope  the  honorable  senator  will  believe  me  when  I  say  nothing  is  farther 
from  Bfiy  wish  than  to  misrepresent  his  arguments.     I  can  have  no  motive 
to  do  so.     The  distinction  between  doing  and  undoing  can  have  no  influ- 
ence on  my  argument.     This  bill  attempts  to  do  something^  not  to  undo.. 
Its  object  is  to  continue  this  chsxt^v  six  years  longer.     This  is.  an  exer- 
tion of  the  same  hind  of  power  which  was  exerted  in  passing  the  charter 
for  twenty  years,  in  1816.     This  poAver  Is  not  given  by  the  Constitution. 
The  honorable  senator  thinks  the  wise  course  is,  to  look  at  the  circum- 
stances in  which  we  are  placed,  and  adapt  our  measures  to  our  situation. 
This  is  all  true  when  we  possess  the  power  to  act ;  but  here  the  first 
consideration  is.  Have  we  the  power?   if  we  have  not,  it  is  vain  to 
consider  how  that  ought  to  be  used  which  we  do  not  possess.     The 
present  charter  has  yet  two  j^ears  to  run :  if  the  object  of  this  bill  were 
now  to  repeal  it,  then  the  doctrine  of  the  hotiorable  senator  would  be 
applicable.     With  him  I  would  look  to  the  circumstances  in  which  we 
are  placed,  and  although  I  might  believe  the  act  of  1816,  incorporating 
the  bank,  to  be  unconstitutional,  yet  as  the  stockholders  and  society  had 
acquired  interests  under  the  act,  I  would  not  offend  the  moral  sense  of 
the -community  by  voting  for  the  repeal;  besides,  I  would  reflect  that 
these'  rights  were  subjects  of  judicial  cognizance,  and  if  a  mistake  were 
made  here,  as  to  our  powers,  the  courts  would  protect  the  rights  of  indi- 
viduals ;  but  the  object  of  this  bill  is  not  to  repeal,  it  is  to  extend.     It  is 
not  to  take  anything  from  the  bank,  but  to  continue  its  powers  six  years 
longer,  as  the  bill  now  is ;   twelve  years,  as  the  senator  from  South 
Carolina  thinks  it  ought  to  be.     I  deny  the  power  to  do  this.     The  case 
of  Louisiana,  referred  to  by  the  honorable  senator  from  Virginia  [Mr. 
Leigh],  and  which  the  senator  from  South  Carolina  thinks  so  happy  an 
illustration  of  his  doctrine,  with  great  deference,  I  must  say,  does  not 
appear  to  me  to  have  any  application. 

Mr.  Jefferson,  it  is  said,  entertained  an  opinion  that  Louisiana  could 
not,  consistently  with  the  Constitution,  be  purchased-  and  added  to  the 
Union.  It  was  purchased,  has  been  formed  into  a  State,  and  admitted  on 
an  equal  footing  with  the  other  States;  and  gentlemen  ask,  will  you  now 
exclude  her  because  it  was  unconstitutional  to  admit  her?  I  answer,  no, 
I  would  look  to  the  existing  state  of  things,  and  take  no  step- — let  them 
reniain  as  I  found  them.  But  suppose  it  liad  been  possible  to  have 
admitted  her  upon  trial  for  six  years,  to  see  how  she  would  beliave  in  the 
Union,  and  when  those  six  years  had  elapsed,  there  was  an  application  to 
admit  her- permanently,  then  we  would  have  art  analogous  case,  and,  I  say, 
tlie  constitutional  question  would  be  as  much  open  as  it  was  when  sho 


118  "MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    "WHITE. 

was  admitted  for  the  six  years.  [Here  Mr.  Leigh,  interrupted  Mr.  "Wliite, 
and  said,  he  desired  to  know  what  would  be  done  when  Arkansas  applied 
for  admission,  and  he  would,  with  as  much  pleasure  receive  the  informa- 
tion from  the  senator  of  Tennessee  as  from  any  other  gentleman.] 
Mr.  W.  continued:  In  answer  to  the  interrogatory  put  by  the  honor- 
able seu'^tor  from  Virginia,  I  can  only  say,  that  when  Arkansas  does 
apply  to  be  admitted  as  a  member  State,  if  any  gentleman  shall  think 
it  unconstitutional  to  admit  her,  we  will  then  examine  and  decide  the 
question. 

Mr.  President :  I  can  find  no  warrant  in  the  Constitution,  for  a  distinc- 
tion between  money  and  currency.  That  circulating  medium  which  is  to 
be  the  standard  by  which  the  seller  and  buyer  of  property  are  to  ascertain 
its  value,  is  metallic,  to  be  come(Z,«and  Its  value  fixed  by  Congress;  or 
foreign  coin^  the  value  of  which  is  tixed  by  the  same  power.  Nothing 
else  is  money,  nothing  else  is  currency,  by  the  Constitution. 

By  the  first  clause  of  the  8th  section  of  the  1st  article  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, a  power  is  vested  in  Congress,  "  to  lay  and  collect  taxes,  imposts, 
duties,  and  excises,  to  pay  the  debts,  and  provide  for  the  common  defence 
and  general  welfiire  of  the  United  States."  It  is  argued  by  those  who 
maintain  the  power  to  incorporate  a  bank,  that  it  is  necessary  and  proper 
to  have  one,  as  an  agent  to  collect  the  taxes,  to  keep  them  safelj',  and  to 
pay  tlie  debts  due  by  the  government,  in  the  different  sections  of  the 
'country.  I  think  a  Bank  of  the  United  States  would  be  convenient  for 
these  purposes,  but  deny  that  one  is  necessary. 

Mr.  President,  if  there  were  no  bank,  either  State  or  federal,  in  the 
Union,  our  taxes  could  be  collected,  the  money  safely  kept  and  paid  out, 
according  to  the  provisions  of  law,  by  the  appointment  of  natural  per- 
sons. Now  we  may  employ  them  in  preference  to  banks,  if  we  choose. 
There  cannot,  therefore,  be  a  necessity  to  create  a  bank  for  such  purpose; 
and  if  we  infer  the  power  to  make  the  bank,  because  it  would  be  a 
matter  of  convenience,  where  can  any  limit  be  fixed  to  implied  powers  ? 
I  cannot  fix  any.  But  suppose  a  bank  to  be  necessary  and  proper  as  a 
fiscal  agent,  there  are  State  banks — why  not  employ  them  ?  It  is  said 
that,  as  these  brinks  are  not  created  by  Congress,  we  cannot  have  any 
control  over  them.  This  I  deny;  we  will  have  all  the  control  over  them 
which  we  ought  to  have.  The  custom  of  the  United  States,  as  depositors, 
will  always  be  sufficient  to  ensure  fidelity  in  collection,  safe-keeping,  and 
disbursements  'of  your  money;  and  these  are  the  only  uses  we  have  for 
such  agents.  Whenever  it  is  believed  one  is  about  to  act  in  bad  faith, 
dismiss  it.  This  we  willalways  have  a  power  to  do;  and  a  fear  that  this 
power  will  be  exercised,  will  procure  fidelity.  Your  power  will  always 
"be  suflicieutfor  every  salutary  purpose :  seldom,  if  ever,  sufficient  to  be 
productive  of  mischief.  Suppose  a  bank  employed  in  each  State,  over 
which  we  have  no  control,  except  what  our  deposits  would  give :  there 


UNITED    STATES    BANK.  119 

"wodd  then  be  twenty-four  banks,  governed  by  directors,  created  under 
tlie  autliority  of  the  respective  States;  accountable  totliem;  and  each 
independent  of  every  other.  How  could  the  United  States  procure  a 
concert  of  action  among  them,  for  any  unworthy  purpose  ?  Corrupting 
one  would  be  no  advantage  in  attaining  the  object.  AH  must  be  cor- 
rupted, the  moment  the  attempt  Avas  made — and  one  honest  man  found 
in  any  one  board,  the  whole  plan  would  be  exposed,  and  its  authors  held 
np  to  public  contempt  and  scorn.  A  bank,  created  by  the  United  States, 
accountable  to  them,  having  the  use  of  all  ymir  money ^  and  managed  by 
a  majority  of  a  board,  composed  of  seven  men,  is  in  a  very  different  situ- 
ation. The  pecuniary  influence  you -would  have,  would  be  much  greater 
— the  number  of  men  necessary  to  corrupt,  would  be  so  small,  that  the 
Sanger  of  improper  influence  is  increased  to  an  alarming  extent. 

But  it  is  said  the  very  admission  that  Congress  may  employ  State  banks, 
as  fiscal  agents,  is  an  admission  of  the  power  to  create  a  bank,  for  the  same 
purpose.  This,  I  think,  is  not  so.  You  may  wish  an  artificial  person  to 
perfoirm  a  particular  service  for  yoti — ^you  may  find  artificial  persons  already 
made,  that  can  perform  these  services — there  cannot  therefore  be  any 
necessity  that  you  should  create  one,  simply  that  you  may  employ  him  in 
preference. 

What  is  the  real  difficulty  and  struggle  here  ?  It  is  not  that  we  create 
a  bank  to  have  a  fiscal  agent.  No.  The  real  struggle  is  to  keep  in 
existence  a  commerci^al  bank,  for  commercial  purposes.  It  is  dismissed 
by  the  excutive  from  its  fiscal  agency,  and  yet  it  continues,  'endowed  with 
powers  sufficient  to  embarrass  all  commercial  transactions. 

The  truth  is,  that  upon  a  supposed  necessity  for  a  bank  as  a  fiscal  agent, 
one  was  created  in  1816,  endowed  with  powers  for  the  most  extensive 
commercial  uses,  and  instead  of  the  duties  of  a  fiscal  agent  being  its  main, 
or  principal  business,  its  leading,  its  general,  its  profitable,  and  almost 
constant  employ  is  unconnected  with  this  agency,  and  its  business  is 
devoted,  almost  exclusively,  to  other  purposes.  The  business  of  a  fiscal 
agent  dwindles  into  a  mere  by-business,  entirely  incidental;  so  much  so, 
that  when  these  duties  are  taken  from  it,  we  find  it  possessed  of  powers  and 
capacities,  almost  without  limit,  for  good  or  foi-  evil,  so  far  as-the  moneyed 
affiiirs  of  the  country  are  concerned.  This  I  conceive  is  a  practice  under 
the  Constitution,  unsupported  by  a  fair  construction  of  it.  I  think  with 
the  honorable  senator  from  South  Carolina,  that  these  powers  are  trust 
powers,  and  ought  to  be  so  exerted,  as  to  attain  the  object  in  vesting  the 
trust.  Now  if  it  be  true,  that  we  have  a  constitutional  power  to  create 
a  bank,  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  the  public  money,  I'eeping  it  safe, 
and  paying  it  out,  at  the  points  desired,  it  gives  no  power  to  create  a 
bank,  for  the  purposes  of  issuing  hanh  notes,  and  granting  accommoda- 
tions to  those  concerned  in  trade  and  commerce,  to  any  extent  the  wants 
or  wishes  of  society  may  require. 


120  MEMOIR     OF    HUGH     LAWfeON    WHITE. 

Again.  If  it  is  necessary  and  proper  to  incorporate  a  bank,  as  a  fiscal 
affent,  which  I  do  not  admit,  there  can  be  no  power  to  establish  such  a 
bank  as  this,  "We  can  neither  wish,  nor  expect  a  bank  of  issues,  and  of 
calculation ;  all  we  can  possibly  need  will  be  a  bank  of  discount  and 
deposit,  and  tkat  of  small  capital.  Such  a  bank  would  be  perfectly  able 
to  make  our  collections,  preserve,  and  pay  out  the  public  moneys;  and  in 
addition  to  the  discliarge  of  these  duties,  such  a  bank  could,  and  would 
most  effectually  check  excessive  issues  of  paper  by  the  State  ianJcs  ;  it  could 
also  grant  discounts  to  a  reasonable  extent  to  commercial  men,  or  others ; 
and  likewise  by  drafts,  on  the  different  branches,  in  different  sections  of 
country,  could  furnish  the  means  of  d'emittance,  to  any  extent  that  would 
be  reasonably  required. 

Indeed,  one  on  a  scale  still  more  limited,  would  answer  every  fiscal 
purpose.  A  bank  of  deposit  and  transfer  is  all  that  the  government 
could  have  occasion  for.  How  then  it  is  possible  we  can  foirly  deduce  a 
power  to  establish  a  bank,  and  vest  in  the  corporation  the  immensg 
poweVs  which  this  charter  confers,  I  am  unable  to  discover;  therefore,  I 
will  not  consent  to  use  .a  power  which  I  do  not  think  we  possess,  to  pro- 
long ,the  existence  of  such  an  institutioji,  for  a  day,  a  year,  or  for  any 
other  term  whatever.  Holding  these  opinions,  I  am  not  among  the 
number  of  those  who  can  eyer  be  embarrassed  by  the  question,  whether 
the  United  States  Bank  ought  to  be  placed  in  Ohesnut  street  or  in  Wall 
street. 

Ml'.  President,  if  we  had  the  power  to  create  a  bank,  I  insist  it  is  bad 
policy  to  exercise  jt  as  is  now  proposed. 

The  objections  to  extending  this  charter  are,  in  my  opinion,  stronger 
than  they  were  to  incorporating  the  bank  originally.  The  theory  of  our 
government  is  perfect  equality.  Make  all  safe  in  every  thing  to  whicli  they 
have  a  just  right,  and  give  no  one  an  advantage,  hy  law,  over  any  other. 
This  we  ought,  as  far  as  we  can,  to  carry  out  in  practice.  When  the  act 
of  incorporation  was  passed,  there  was  an  apparent  equality,  at  least, 
because  every  citizen  had  an  equal  opportunity  of  subscribing  for  stock,  but 
if  we  extend  the  charter  the  value  of- the  stock  is  immediately  increased, 
and  the  present  stockholders  have,  by  law,  a  privilege  extended  to  them, 
in  exclusion  of  every  other  person. 

But,  sir,  if  I  am  mistaken  in  everything  I  have  said,  I  still  contend 
the,  charter  ought  not  to  be\prolonged.  The  immediate  benefit  to  be 
derived  from  the.  passage  of  this  bill  is  a  relief  to  a  distressed  community. 
To  form  a  proper  estimate  of  the  remedy,  we  ought  to  have  some  opinion 
of  the  extent  of  the  disease,  and  of  the  causes  which  have  produced  it. 

I  am  not  among  the  number  of  those,  who  deny  that  there  is  any 
pecuniary  distress.  That  there  is,  in  many,  parts  of  the  country,  a  want 
of  money,  and  considerable  sacrifices  because  it  cannot  be  obtaitied,  I 
verily  beheve.     These  sufferings  have  not  yet  reached  the  particular 


UNITED   STATES   BANK.  121 

country  which  I  in  part  represent:  but  as  all  others,  as  well  as  my 
immediate  constituents,  are  to  be  affected  by  my  votes,  I  consider  it  as 
much  my  duty  to  relieve  the  distresses  of  others,  if  in  my  power,  as  it 
would  be  to  relieve  .the  distresses  of  those  I  immediately  represent. 
I  will  add,  that  there  does  not  live  in  the  United  States,  the  human 
being,  whose  condition  I  would  not  gladly  make  better.     What  lias  led 
to  these  pecuniary  wants,  is  a  question,  on  which  there  has  been  some 
variety  of  opinion.     I  think  it  very  obvions,  that  the  operations  of  the 
Bank  of  the  United  States  have  been  the  principal  cause.     She  has  not 
only  refrained  from  granting  the  usual  accommodations  to  men-  in  busi- 
ness, but  slie  has  been  operating  the  wrong  way ;  she  has  been  curtail- 
ing her  discounts;  this  has  compelled  State  banks  to  do  so  likewise. 
Money  then  is  made  much  scarcer  than  formerly.     The  demand  for  it  is 
increased.     Under  the  tariif  laws,  cash  is  now  to  be  paid  in  some 
instances  where  credit  had  formerly  been  given.     In  other  cases  whero 
long  credits  had  been  given,  short  credits  are  now  allowed.     The  long 
credits  and  the  short  credits  have  been  faHing  due  at  the  same  time. 
The  bank  lias,  caused  bills  to  be  purchased  payable  in  the  large  cities,  to 
a  greater  amount  than  formerly.     These  different  causes  have  created  an 
increased  demand  for  money,  and  the  common  means  of  obtaining  it  are 
withdrawn.     To  these  ought  to  be  added  the  .doubt  and  uncertainty,  as 
to  the  result  of  our  legislation,  which  prevents  men  of  business  from 
adapting  their  proceedings  to  any  settled  course. 

The  result  of  the  whole  is,  the  business  part  of  the  community  need 
more  money  than  formerly,  and  can  obtain  less.     I  believe  there  is  suf- 
fering and  distress,  and  if  this  bank  is  to  wind  up,  this  suffering  must 
at  some  period,  be  increased.     If  we  admit,  which  I  think  we  ought  not 
that  the  withdrawal  of  the  deposits  made  some  curtailment  of  her  busi- 
ness necessary,  on  the  part  of  the  bank,  I  do  not  believe  we  ought  to 
doubt  but  they  have  been  carried  farther  than  was  necessary.     One 
thing,  I  think,  has  been  clearly  shown,  by  the  honorable  senator  from 
Missouri :  that  is,  that  no  additional  curtailments  to  make  the  bank  safe 
ca,n  be  necessary. 

This  bapk  then  is  the  main  cause  of  this  suffering  and  this  distress 
and  to  relieve  them  we  are  asked  to  extend  its  powers  for  six  years' 
longer.  Heretofore  it  has  pursued  its  oic7i  interest ;  will  it  not  do  so 
again?  If  its  interest  prompts  to  liberal  accommodations,  they  will  be 
granted,  and  circulating  medium  will  be  plenty.  If  its  objects  can  be 
better  accomplished  by  withdrawing  accommodations^  and  lessening  the 
circulating  medium,  that  course  will  be  pursued,  and  our  pecuniary 
sufferings  and  distresses  will  again  return.  I  have  no  confidence  in  such 
a  remedy ;  it  will  probably  be  worse  than  the  present  disease. 
^  How  would  the  bank  employ  its  vast  means,  during  the  prolonged 
time?  I  tliink  just  in  such  manner  as  would  most  |)romote  its  own 
interest,  without  any  special  regard  to  the  interest  of  tlie  community. 


122  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSOJST    WniTE. 

All  persons,  natural  or  artificial,  dread  dissolution.  The  natural  person 
will  cling  to  existence  as  long  as  possible ;  lie  will  lay  hold  of  anything 
within  his  reach,  by  which  he  can  preserve  himself  for  an  hour,  a  day, 
or  a  week;  just  so  with  this  corporation;  it  will  use  its  whole  power  to 
procure  a  renewal  of  the  charter,  after  the  lapse  of  the  'six  yeai's.  It 
will  use  its  means  to  increase  the  number  of  its  friends,  and  to  put  its 
opponents  in  a  situation  not  to  thwart  its  views.  It  will  extend  its 
business  whenever,  and  wherever,  such  a  course  will  aid  its  prospects ; 
it  will  contract  its  issues,  and  curtail  its  discounts,  whenever  and 
wherever  opposition  to  its  plans  can  be  put  down,  hy  oppression.  I 
have  no  idea  that  the  directors  now,  or  at  any  other  time,  have  engaged 
in  any  scheme  of  oppression,  because  they  delight  in  inflicting  an  injury 
up«3n  any  one.  Corporations,  it  is  said,  have  no  souls,  but  they  are 
managed  by  those  who  have,  and  by  those  who  will  be  attentive  to  their 
own  interests,  and  will  use  their  powers  to  promote  them.  Prolong  this 
charter,  and  your  control  is  gone ;  the  bank  will  act  as  it  may  think 
best ;  it  Avill,  and  must,  mingle  in  your  politics ;  its  permanency  will 
depend  on  displacing  enemies  from  power,  and  supplying  their  places 
by  the  promotion  of  friends.  No  means  will  be  left  untried,  to  accom- 
plish this  object.  That  it  should  interfere  in  politics,  is  inherent  in  the 
charter  itself.  'It  is  a  partnership  between  the  government  and  indi- 
viduals. It  is  a  mixture  of  political  power  with  money,  and  in  every 
controversy  in  which  the  corporation  can  have  an  interest  the  bank  will 
interfere  in  elections,  on  the  one  side  or  the  other.  The  principles  con- 
tained in  the  charter  lead  necessarily  to  this  result,  and  we  need  expect 
nothing  else.  The  very  object  of  extending  for  six  years  is,  to  relieve 
the  community  presently,  and  in  the  meantime,  to  see  whether  this 
banJc  shall  be  continued  afterwards,  or  some  other  substituted.  How 
then  can  we  doubt  its  course,  during  this  period?  It  will  extend  its 
business  first,  and  contract  it  afterwards,  if  success  is  likely  to  be 
attained  by  such  a  course. 

If  its  business  is  ever  to  cease,  why  not  at  the-  end  of  the  present 
charter?  It  is  admitted  the  resources  of  the  country  never  were  greater 
than  now.  There  is  no'reason  to  believe  debtors  will  ejer  be  more  able 
to  pay.  "We  have  had  distress  and  suflfering  for  five  or  six  months ;  if 
the  charter  is  prolonged,  this  must  be  gone  over  again  six  years  hence, 
and  there  is  no  reason  to  think  we  shall  be "  better  able  to  meet  the 
demands  of  the  bank  then,  than  now.  The  remedy  for  present  distress, 
is  only  a  palliative  ;  the  cause  of  the  disease-will  remain  in  the  system  ; 
it  will  be  acquiring  strength  for  six  years,  and  then  break  out  with 
increased  violence,  and  the  injury  and  ruin  will  be  on  a  more  extensive 
scale. 

We  can  only  form  an  opinion  of  what  the  bank  will  do  in  future,  by 
reflecting  on  what  it  has  done  in  time  past. 

In  December,  1829,  the  Chief  Magistrate  made  his  first  comraunica- 


UNITICD    STATES    BANK.  123 

tion  to  Congress,  showing  that  he  was  disinclined  to  a  renewal  of  tUo 
charter ;  this  was  folloAved  np  in  his  messages  of  1830  and  1831.  Tliese 
coniinimications  he  was  bonnd  in  duty  to  make,  if  he  believed  tlie 
public  good  would  be  promoted  by  an  expression  of  his  opinions,  to 
the  national  legislature.  The  bank,  ever  attentive  to  its  own  interest, 
in  1831  began  a  rapid  extension  of  its  business,  and  early  in  1832,  had 
increased  its  accommodations  to  the  amount  of  twenty-eight  millions  of 
dollars,  as  its  opponents  say,  and  as  is  admitted  by  itself,  to  upwards 
of  seve'iteen  millions.  The  Presidential  elections  took  place  in  the  fall, 
1832.  To  me  it  appears  plain  that  this  extension  was  intended  to  make 
as  many  friends,  as  acts  of  kindness  could  make.  The  accommodations 
are  now  reduced  from  seventy  millions  to  about  fifty-four  millions. 
"Why  this  decrease?  The  expansion,  or  contraction,  must  have  been 
too  great.  The  pretence  is,  that  the  state  of  the  country  required 
the  inci^ease,  when  there  was  an  extension,  and  that  accominoda 
tions  were  curtailed,  when  the  state  of  business  justified  the  reduction. 
We  all  know  that  there  is  an  error  in  this  statement.  There  was 
no  such  change  in  the  business  of  the  countiy,  as  to  justify  this 
change  in  the  policy  of  the  bank.  Friends  were  to  be  made  by  extend- 
ing wide  the  wings  of  the  net,  with  a  full  knowledge  that  when  the 
birds  were  coaxed  in,  and  those  wings  contracted,  the  fluttering  woidd 
commence,  and  an  escape  from  the  toils  would  be  sought  by  almost 

aiiy  means. 

The  increase  and  decrease,  were  made  with  a  view  to  the  interest  of  the 
stockliolders,  without  regard  to  the  eflfect  upon  the  customer,  or  upon 
society. 

The  bank  went  into  operation  the  first  day  of  January,  1817;  one  of 
the  leading  objects  in  granting  its  charter  was,  through  its  operations,  to 
reduce  tlie  extravagant  dealings  with  State  banks ;  to  restore  and  preserve 
a  sound  currency  to  the  country.  The  directors  Avell  knew  this,  yet  they 
'acted  with  a  single  eye  to  what  they  conceived  the  interest  of  the  bank, 
and  its  friends  ;  in  place  of  checking  it  stimulated  overtrading.  Instead 
of  restoring  and  preserving  a  sound  currency,  it  adopted  measures  which 
in  1818  and  1819,  placed  it  in  the  power  of  the  State  banks,  in  Phila- 
delphia, to  take  from  it  every  single  dollar  and  leave  it  still  in  debt  to 
them  upw^ards  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  thousand  dollars.  Mr. 
Cheves  took  charge  of  the  bank,  and  as  President,  pursued  a  policy, 
which  in  seventy  days  placed  the  bank  in  a  state  of  security,  but  the 
curtailments  Avere  so  rapid,  and  the  withdrawal  of  the  circulating 
medium  so  great,  as  to  ruin  society,  compel  other  banks  to  suspend 
specie  payment,  and  again  afflict  the  community  with  a  depreciated 
currency. 

Liberal  accommodations,  and  extensive  issues,  had  given  an  appear- 
ance of  wealth,  to  those  worth  little,  or  nothing.     Property  commanded 


124  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

• 
enormous  prices,  as  this  bank  had  made  money  plenty ;  but  the  counter 
current  commenced,  and  in  1819,  a  scene  of  wide-spread  ruin  was  pre- 
sented. The  bank  made  money  scarce ;  the  price  of  property  fell  to 
almost  nothing;  those  who  had  been  apparently  wealthy,  were  found 
to  be  bankrupts,  and  hardly  any  man  had  Avherewithal  to  pay  his 
debts. 

An  individual  had,  when  money  was  plenty,  purchased  a  house  and 
lot,  for  ten  thousand  dollars;  he  paid  six  thousand,  was  sued  for  the 
balance;  the  house  and  lot  sold  at ^i(eew  Azm^Zre^Z  dollars;  and  thus,  he 
sunk  in  the  single  bargain,  eight  thousand  five  hundred  dollars. 

In  the  principal  cities  and  towns,  thousands  of  individuals  were  thrown 
out  of  employ,  the  whole  business  of  the  country  was  deranged,  scenes 
of  misery  and  distress  were  produced,  to  which  the  present  distress  and 
pressure  bear  but  little  resemblance.  This  state  of  things  was  produced, 
because  the  directors  managed  the  bank  with  a  viCAV  to  their  own  interest^ 
and  that  of  their  friends,  disregarding  the  interest  of  that  community 
from  which  tliey  had  acquired  their  power.  May  they-  not  do  so  again  ? 
Have'  we  not  reason  to  fear  they  w^ill,  if  the  charter  is  prolonged  ? 

[Here  Mr.  "White  gave  way  for  a  motion  to  adjourn.] 

Mr.  White  resumed  as  follows,  next  day : — 

Mr.  Peesident  :  Before  I  resume  the  discussion  in  which  I  was  yester- 
day engaged,  when  the  Senate  adjourned,  I  must  beg  permission  to  call 
the  attention  of  this  body,  for  the  first  time  since  I  have  been  honored 
with  a  seat  here,  to  a  newspaper  paragraph,  in  wliich  my  name  has  been 
introduced.  I  know  that  my  standing  here  is  too  humble,  and  my 
opinions  of  too  little  value,  to  make  it  necessary  fot  me,  on  common 
occasions,  to  contradict  any  statement  coupled  with  my  name ;  but  con- 
sidering the  excitement  which  now  prevails  in  some  sections  of  the 
country,  and  the  desire  repeatedly  expressed,  for  the  adoi)tion  'of  some 
measure,  by  Congress,  to  relieve  the  community  from  the  distresses  which 
it  is  said  they  experienced,"'  I  think  it  improper  to  permit  any  statement 
to  remain  uncontradicted,  which  is  calculated  to  excite  expectations, 
which,  so  far  as  in  my  power,  will  not  be  fully  realized. 

Tlie  publication  to  which  I  allude,  purports  to  be  a  correspondence 
with  the  New  York  Journal  of  Commerce,  and  is  in  the  following 
words : 

"WAsniNGTOx,  March  19,  1834r. 
"At  length,  we  may  discern  one  faint  glimmer  of  light  in  our  political 
prospect.  Mr.  Calhoun  has  devised  a  plan  for  a  new  national  bauk  on 
principles  which  wholly  avoid  the  co'nstitutiqnal  scruples  of  tlie  Southera 
representatives,  and  which  will  be'  generally  acceptable.  ■  The  plan  lias 
been  submitted  to  a  number  of  senators  of  different  parties,  and  has  been 


UIJITED  STATES   BANK.  125 

decidedly  approved,  particularly  by  those  senators  who  are  opposed  on 
coustitutional  grounds  to  the  re-charter  of  the  present  hank,  and  who 
are  at  the  same  time  averse  to  General  Jackson's  experiment  upon  the 
currency.  It  -is  also  uneqiti vocally  approved,  it  is  said,  by  Messrs. 
Grundy  and  Wftite,  who  are'  friendly  to  the  President." 

Mr.  President,  what  I  have  now  to  say,  in  relation  to  the  matter  men- 
tioned in  this  letter,  is,  that  I  have  no  knowledge  of  any  2)lnnfora  iani;, 
to  be  submitted  by  the  honorable  senator  from  South'  Carolina ;  that  I 
know  nothing  of  that  gentleman's  opinion  on  the  subject  of  a  United 
States  Bank,  except  what  I  have  collected  from  the  public  speeches 
delivered  here.  The  last  of  those  speeches  was  not  delivered  until  after 
the  date  of  this  letter.  Out  of  this  place  in  this  chamber,  I  have  not 
heard  from  him  one  word  during  this  session,  on  the  subject  of  any  bank 
whatever.  Therefore,  the  whole  statement  in  this  letter,  so  far  as  my 
name  is  connected  with  it,  is  ei'roneous,  and  has  not  the  shadow  of  truth 
for  its  foundation.  I  have  shown  this  letter  to  my  colleague,  whose 
name  is  also  mentioned;  he  has  read  it,  and  I  am  not  only  authorized, 
but  i-equested  by  him  to  say,  that  the  same  statement  which  I  make  as 
to  myself,  is  equally  true  as  it  relates  to  him. 

"When  the  Senate  adjourned,  on  yesterday,  I  was' considering  the  effects 
on  society,  in  the  year  1819,  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Bank  of  the 
United  States,  from  the  time  it  went  into  operation. 

The  distresses  then  experienced,  and  those  now  felt,  are  the  fruits  of 
the  charter  gi-anted  in  1816.  The  patriots  of  that  day,  found  the  country 
flooded  with  a  depreciated  paper  medium,  put  in  circulation  by  State 
banks,  and  unfortunately,  as  I  think,  sought  to  remedy  the  evil  by  the 
estabhshment  of  a  bank.  As  the  United  States  were  to  have  tlie  entire 
moneyed  power,  by  the  Constitution,  and  as  the  States  had  established 
banks,  it  was  believed  the  United  Stat^  might  establish  one  also,  to  regu- 
late the  currency.  Instead  of  this,  if  the  collection  of  the  revenue,  and 
all  debts  due  to  the  government,  had  been  enforced  in  money,  tlie  moral 
sense  of  the  community,  the  fertility  of  our  soil,  and  the  industry  of  the 
people,  would  soon  have 'given' us  a  sound  circulating  medium.  State 
banks,  which  had  the  means,  would  soon  have  been  compelled  to  resume, 
and  continue,  specie  payments,  and  those  which  were  unable  to  do  so, 
must  have  stopped  business.  The  duties  upon  foreign  importations 
alone,  Were  from  ftrty  to-  fifty  millions  of  dollars.  Witli  the  power  of 
government  "exerted  in  the  proper  direction,  a  sound  currency  must  have 
been  procured,  within  a  very  short  period.  But  bank  notes,  thougli  not 
money,  were  considered  currency^  and  witli  a  view  to  check  and  control 
a  depreciated  State  currency,  it  was  suppQsed  the  United  States  had  a 
power  to  establish  a  bank,  which  should  give  a  sound  currency  itself,  and 
compel  State  bariks  to  do  likewise.     This  word  ^'•currency  "  I  cannot  find 


126  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

in  the  Constitution.  Oonstitntionally  speaking,  nothing  but  money  is 
currency,  and  nothing  can  be  money  which  is  not  metallic.  Bank  notes 
issued  under  the  authority  of  the  federal  or  State  governments,  are  not 
currency;  they  are  not  money,  nor  C9,n  they  be  made  so.  They  are 
nothing  but  credits  used  by  common  consent,  to  pass  as  substitutes  for 
money.  Promissory  notes,  negotiable  and, negotiated,  or  bills  of  exchange, 
arQ  as  much  entitled  to  the  appellation,  of  currency,  as  bank  notes  are. 
If  bank  notes  are  currency,  what  will  be  said  of  the  notes  of  the  bank  of 
the  late  Stephen  Girard?  What  of  the  notes  of  the  bank  of  my  country- 
men, Yeatuian,  Woods,  and  Co.  ?  These  bank  notes  are  as  current  as 
the  notes  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States.  A  man  may  set  out  at  New 
Orleans,  and  travel  on  to  Philadelphia,  and  he  v/ill  find  these  notes 
current  the  whole  route ;  yet  no  charter  for  a  bank  was  ever  granted,  by 
any  government,  to  either  of  those  gentlemen.  These  notes  are  nothing 
but  credits ;  they  pass  in  place  of  money,  by  common  consent,  and  so  do 
the  other  bank  notes.  The  only  thing  that  gives  them  currency,  is.  the 
confidence^  that  whenever  the  holder  wishes  money  for  them,  and  will 
apply  for  it,  at  the  place  specified  for  payment,  the  makers  will  be  found 
able  and  willing  to  pay  the  s^jecie^  and  lift  them.  Nothing  can  prevent 
them  from  depreciation  but  this  confidence. 

Mr.  President,  I  know  ,of  whom  I  speak,  and  I  know  among  them  are 
men,  who  have  the  highest  claims  to  our  confidence,  which  purity  of 
motive  and  strength  of  intellect  can  give ;  yet  I  must  be  permitted  to  say, 
I  think  the  distinction  then  taken,  and  acted  upon,  by  granting  this 
charter,  between  money  and  currency^  has  no  warrant  in  the  Constitution. 
I  think  the  bank  then  created  in  consequence  of  that  distinction,  an  ex- 
crescence, which  has  grown  out  of  an  erroneous  construction.  This  bank 
is  a  political  cancer,  the  roots  and  fibres  of  which  have  raimified  them- 
selves through  all  society,  and  we  might  as  well  hope  to  tear  from  the 
human  body,  the  cancer  there  formed,  as  to  expect  to  remove  from  the 
body  politic,  this  bank,  without  causing  pain  and  suffering. 

It  is  due,  I  think,  to  this  subject,  that  we  should  permit  our  minds  to 
recur  to  the  situation  in  which  we  were  placed,  as  to  our  currency,  when 
this  act  of  incorporation  was  passed,  and  the  causes  which  led  to  the 
state  of  things  which  then  existed.  War  had  been  declared  in  1812, 
without  any  pecuniary  preparation,  to  meet  the  extraordinary  calls  which 
the  prosecuting  of  the  war  could  not, fail  to  produce.  So  far  from  this,, 
the  conduct  of  some  of  the,  European  powers  had  driven  our  governmeflt 
into  a  series  of  restrictive  measures,  Avhich  so  much  embarrassed  our  com- 
mercial operations,  as  to  produce  distresses  and  complaints,  which  were 
laid  before  Congress  in  the  strongesti^erms.  Out  'of  Congress,  these  mea- 
sures were  reprobated  in  terms  of  great  bitterues^.  The  measures  of  the 
then  Administration,  were  represented  as  ruinous  to  tlie  commerce  of  the 
country;  it  was  said  we  were  truckling  to  a  foreign  power;  that  there 


UNITED   STATES   BANK.     >  127 

was  no  mode  of  maintaining  the  honor  of  the  country,  but  by  a  declara- 
tion of  war,  and  that  tlie  Administration  was  so  pusillanimous,  it  could 
not  be  kicked  into  a  war. 

Congress  believed  there  was  just  cause,  and  therefore  did  declare  war 
against  Great  Britian.  Money  was  necessary ;  the  treasury  had  it  not ; 
it  must  be  procured  by  loans;  the  opponents  of  the  Administration 
employed  themselves  assiduously,  no  doubt  many  of  them  from  very 
proper  motives,  to  produce  an  indisposition  in  all  who  had  money,  to 
grant  those  loans.  The  pohticians,  the  presses,  even  the  pulpits,  endea- 
vored to  impress  the  public  with  the  opinion  that  it  was  immoral,  and 
wicked,  to  furnish  funds  to  prosecute  a  war  so  unjust,  and, which  had 
been  declared,  as  they  insisted,  from  motives  moSt  unworthy.  This  course 
of  the  opi)osition,  stimulated  the  advocates  of  the  Administration  to  exei't 
eveiy  nerve,  to  procure  the  necessary  funds.  Individuals  and  banks  made 
loans  to  the  full  extent  of  all  their  means.  The  banks  were  soon  led  to 
beheve  that  it  was  a  test  of  patriotism  to  be  liberal  in  their  advances. 
They  were  urged,  nay  almost  begged,  by  the  Administration,  to  take  up 
loans.  The  consequence  was,  that  the  banks  extended  their  loans  to 
goternment^  and  to  individuals,  beyond  the  limits  which  their  specie 
would  justify.  Let  it  never  be  forgotten,  that  without  the  paper  of  these 
banks,  a  ban-el  of  flour,  a  load  of  ammunition,  or  even  a  flint,  could  not 
be  purchased  for  your  army  or  navy.  Peace  Avas  restored  in  1815;  it 
found  some  of  the  banks  already  not  paying  specie ;  many  others  soon 
afterwards  suspended  such  payments  also.  This,  so  far  from  being  dis- 
countenanced by  the  government,  was  most  certainly  winked  at,  if  not 
expressly  approved. 

A  depreciation  in  the  value  of  the  notes  of  these  banks  was  the  neces- 
sary consequence  of  suspending  specie  payments,  and  the  same  political 
party,  which  declared  the  war,  still  constituted  the  majority,  and  endea- 
vored to  devise  some  plan  to  restore  a  sound  currency  to  the  country. 
The  plan  devised  was  the  instrumentality  of  this  bank.  The  object  was 
not  gain  to  the  stockholders,  but  the  high  purpose  of  regulating  the  cur- 
renmj^  though  the  power  of  this  agent.  The  governrnent  l^ad  Ave  direc- 
tors, and  the  stockholders  twenty,  and  at  the  head  of  the  directory,  was 
placed  a  man  of  high  respectability— one  of  so  much  character,  that  if  I 
mistake  not,  at  one  period  during  the  war,  he  .acted  as  the  head  of  three 
of  the  executive  departments  at  the  same  time. 

The  hank  commenced  its  operations,  and  instead  of  aiming,  by  a  pru- 
dent, steady,  and  wise  policy,  to  attain  the  object  for  which  it  was  created, 
it  united  with  the  State  banks,  in  extending  accommodations  to  indivi- 
duals, and  in  increasing  the  issues  of  bank  paper  to  a  most  unreasonable 
extent.  Specie  payments  were  resumed,  it  is  true.  Branches  of  this 
bank  were  established  in  several  of  the  States :  those  established  in  the 
West,  with  which  I  had  the  only  acquaintance,  were  not  furnished  with 


128  MEMOIE    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

one  dollar  of  actual  capital.  Tlie  cashier  was  sent  to  establish  a  branch, 
furnished  with  drafts  for  the  public  moneys  deposited  in  the  State  banks, 
and  with  a  power  to  collect  the  floating  capital  in  the  country,  by  draw- 
ing upon  the  banks-  in  the  Eastern  cities.  In  place,  then,  of  aiding  State 
banks  to  continue  spiecie  payments,  when  resumed,  this  very  bank  with- 
drew the  means  of  enabling  them  to  do  so.  In  place  of  inducing  them  to 
curtail,  by  prudent  means,  their  issues,  already  too  great,  they  were 
encouraged  to  increas'e  their  circulation  still  more.  The  immense  amount 
of  money  in  circulation  gave  an  artificial  value  to  everything.  Over- 
trading was  carried  to  such  an  extent,  that  all  idea  of  the  true  standing 
and  credit  of  men,  in  society,  was  lost  sight  of.  Cities  were  improved, 
and  villages  sprung  up,  as  if  by  enchantment ;  each  little  town  was  fui*- 
nishecT  with  more  merchants  than  were  sufficient  to  have  done  the 
business  of  the  whole  country  in  which  it  was  situated.  This  artificial 
state  of  things  could  not  last.  As  soon  as  there  was  a  demand  for  specie, 
the  counter-curi'ent  commenced.  The  United  States  Bank  began  a  rapid 
curtailment,  to  save. itself  fi-om  open  bankruptcy ;  it  broke  up  State  bi^nks 
and  individual  customers.  The  State  banks  broke  ,up  their  customers ; 
many  of  them,  were  forced  to  suspend  again  specie  payments,  and  a 
■depreciated,  currency  was  imposed  upon  the  community.  Some  of  the 
State  banks- never  afterwards  resumed  specie  payments;'  and  a  sound 
currency  ^yas  not  again  restored  to  the  country  until  from  1824  to  182G. 
"Where,  in  1817  and  1818  there  appeared  nothing  but  wealth,  prosperity, 
and  comfort,  in  1819,  1820,  and  for  some  time  after,  there  was  one  .scene 
of  pressure,  distress,  bankruptcy,  and  nun.  And  all  this  grew  out  of  the 
incorporation  of  this  bank,  and  transferring  to  it  the  power  o{  regulating 
the  currency.  The  country  was  flooded  with  a  paper  currency  when  it 
suited  the  bank  to  make  property  high ;  and  the  wluole  circulating  medium 
was  withdrawn,  wheti  it  was 'the  interest  of  the  bank  to  reduce  property 
'in  value.  What  assurance  can  we  have  that  the  operations  of  this  bank 
•will  not,  again,  be  directed  to  individual  gain,  should  the  cliartcr  be 
prolonged?  ,  •  . 

,  This  bank  was  vested  with  its  extensive  powers  for  high  governmental 
purposes.  It  is  admitted  that  tire  State  banks,  generally,  are  completely 
in  its  power,  and  under  its  control.  All  these  iinmense  powers  have 
been,  in  some  instances,  used  for  the  purposes  of  individual  gain,  at  the 
expense  of  the!  community.  Society/-  at  large  is  unsafe  while  it  is  in.  the 
power  of  a  board  of  directors  of  this  bank  to  fix  what  value  they  please 
upon  property,  by  making  the  common  standard  of  value,  the  circulating 
medium,  flenUj  or  scarce. 

Mr.  President,  the  conduct  of  this  bank  well  justified  the  Secretary 

of  the  Treasury  in  using  the  power  given  him  by  the  16th  section  of 

the  act  of  incorporation,  if  he  thought  it  sound  x>olky  to  withdraw  tho 

public  deposit. 


'^  UNITED    STATES    BANK.  139 

I  will  not  weary  the  Senate  by  travelling  over  the  Avhole-of  the  reasons 
he  has  assigned  for  the  removal,  but  will  only  advert  briefly  to  some 
which,  to  my  mind,  would  be  satisfactory. 

The  bank,  as  the.  fiscal  agent,  violated  the  trust  reposed  in  it,  by  not 
paying  the  three  per  cent:  stock  as  directed. 

A  summary  of  the  leading  facts  shows  this  to  have  been  the  case :  The 
administration  determined  to  pay  a  portion  of  this  stock,  at  a  given  time; 
the  bank  was  furnished  with  the  necessary  funds,  and  instructed  to  make 
the  payment.  Instead  of  complying  Avith  these  instructions,  it  negotiated 
with  the  owners  of  the  stock,  to  induce  them  not  to  apply  for  payment  at 
the  time  specified,  but  to  delay  the  appHcation  for  some  eight  or  tAvelve 
months,  and  promised  that  it,  the  bank,  would  pay  the  accruing  interest. 
I  contend  this  was  a  violation  of  duty,  for  which  the  agent  should  have 
been  dismissed.  An,  individual  owes  another  a  sum  of  money,  bearing 
interest;  he  determines  to  pay  the  debt,  and  lift  the  bond:  he  furnishes 
his  agent  with  the  necessary  funds,  and  instructs  him  to  make  the  pay- 
ment at  a  given  period.  Tlie  agent  disobeys  his  instructions,  and 
promises  the  creditor  that  if  he  will  hold  the  bond  twelve  months  longer, 
he  will  pay  the  interest.  "What  ought  the  principal  to  do  in  such  case? 
I  say,  dismiss  the  agent.  And  it  should  have  been  done  in  this  case, 
with  the  less  hesitation,  -because  here  the  agent  sought  its  own  interest, 
at  the  time  the  instructions  were  violated.  The  uses,  to  which  the  bank 
applied  the  money,  yielded  a  profit  of  six  per  cent.  And  the  stock 
bore  an  interest  of  only  three;  so  that  the  bank  would  pocket  the 
ditference. 

Again.  As  I  have  abeady  stated,  this  bank  Was  estaJblished  for  the 
high  purposes  of  restoring  a  sound  currency  to  the  community,  and  keep- 
ing it  sound.  The  Secretary  tells  us  in  his  report,  that  it  commenced 
rapid  curtailments  in  the  month  of  August,  and  continued  them  up  to  the 
first  ef  October  y  that  these  curtailments  compelled  the  State  banks  to 
curtail  likewisp  ;  that  the  deposits  of  public  moneys  enabled  it  to  accu- 
mulate large  balances  against  the  State  banks,  and  for  those  balances  it 
was  drawing  the  specie ;  that  a  continuance  of  this  system  a  short  time 
longer,  would  have  compelled  the  State  banks  to  have  suspended  specie 
payments,  and  visited  the  trading  part  of  the  community  with  bank- 
ruptcy and  ruin.  This  state  of  facts,  the  truth  of  which  I  see  no 
reason  to  doubt,  furnished  two  satisfactory  causes  for  changing  the 
deposits. 

Again.  One  object  of  vesting  this  corporation  with  these  exti-avagant 
powers,  in  trust,  was  about  to  be  violated.  These  powers  were  exerted 
in  such  a  manner,  as  to  compel  a  suspension  of  specie  payments,  which 
would  inevitably  have  led  to  a  depreciated  currency.  This  was  a  ireach 
of  the  trust,  and  the  Secretary  had  a  right  to  ward  ofl^  the  mischief,  by 
withdrawing  the  public  fimds,  which  were  the  instruments  employed  by 

9 


130  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    "WHITE. 

the  bank,  for  the  accomplishment  of  its  purpose.  Upon  principle,  it 
seems  to  me  the  Secretary  had  aright  to  exercise  his  power  to  maintain 
a  sound  currency,  and  it  has  been  abundantly  shown  that  Mr.  Crawford, 
when  Secretary,  often  exerted  the  like  power  to  accomplish  the  same 
object.  But  it  has  been  argued  that  Mr.  Gra%vford  did  not  claim  this 
power  by  virtue  of  this  IGth  section,  but  by  virtue  of  tlie  joint  resolution, 
adopted  during  the  same  session.  To  this  argument  by  our  opponents,  I 
submit  two  answers.  1st.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose-  that  Mr.  Crawfoi-d 
dM  not  claim  this  power  in  virtue  of  the  16th  section.  Some  of  his  let^ 
ters  referred  to  hy  other  gentlemen,  show  expressly,  as  I  think,  that  this 
power  was  claimed  and  exercised  in  virtue  of  this  very  section.  2d.  If  I 
am  mistaken  in  this,  and  the  power  was  exercised  in  virtue  of  the  reso- 
•lutionj  the  same  power  is  still  continued  .to  tlie  present  Secretary.  The 
resolution  is  not  temporary,  but  permanent.  It  is'unlimited  as  to  ti/me. 
It  authorizes  the  Secretary  to  adopt  such  measures  as  he  may  judge 
necessary,  to  procure  a  sound  currency.  Of  what  use  would  it  be  to 
enable  banks  to  resume  specie  payments,  and  aiford  a  sound  currency, 
unless  such  payments  are  continued.  The  same  -means,  therefore,  which 
could  lawfully  be  employed  to  frecure  a  sound  currency,  may  lawfully 
be  used  to  continue  such  a  currency.  If,  then,  Mr.  Crawford  could 
rightfully  transfer  the  public  moneys  to  State  banks,  to  enable  them  to 
estdblisTi  a  sound  currency,  so  could  Mr.  Taney  to  enable  them  to  main- 
tain it. 

Again.  If  I  am  mistaken  in  this,  from  the  same  facts  another  reason 
is  furnished,  which  justifies  the  removal.  It  is  admitted,  by  those  who 
plit'th^  most  limited  construction  upon  the  pow'ers  of  the  Secretary,  that 
he  may  apd  ought  to- remove  the  public  moneys  whenever  they  are 
unsafe.  They  say  the  power  of  removal  is  a  trusty  and  to  be  so  used  as 
to  preserve  the  fund.  Suppose  this  principle  correct,  for  the  sake  of  the 
argument.  The  Secretary  informs  us,  that  the  bank  was  puj-suing  a 
course  in  the  commercial  cities,  which,  if  not  checked,  would  have  com- 
pelled the  State  banks  to  suspend  specie  payments,  and  have  placed  in  a 
-state  of  bankruptcy,  the  commercial  community  in  those  cities.  These 
same  merchants  were  the  deJ/tors  of  the  government  upon  bond,  for 
duties  constantly  falling  due ;  these  bonds  when  taken-are  always  depo- 
sited with  the  bank  for  collection ;  the  government  has  the  same  interest 
in  its  debtor  continuing  aMe  to  pay  a  bond  thus  deposited,  that  it  has  in 
preserving  the  money  from  loss,  after  it  has  been  paid.  Upon  the  prin- 
ciples assumed  then,  by  honorable  gentlemen  who  have  argued  on  the 
other  side,  it  seems  to  me  the  Secretary  might  well  remove  the  deposits, 
if  by  doing  so,  it  would  protect  the  dchtors  of  the  government  from  that 
oppression  practised  by  the  bank,  which  would  have  ended  in  their  bank- 
ruptcy, and  have  defeated  the  payment  of  the  bonds  already  in  possession 
of  the  bank  for  collection. 


UNITED    STATES    BANK.  131 

I  contend,  also,  that  the  bank  violated  the  spirit  of  the  9th  funda- 
mental I'ule,  contained  in  the  11th  section  of  its -chartpi",  which  is  in  these 
"woi-ds:  "The  said  corporation  shall  not,  directly'  or  indirectly,  deal  or 
trade  in  anything  except  bills  of  exchange,  gold  or  silver  bullion,  or  in  the 
sale  of  goods,  really  and  truly  pledged,  for  money  lent,  and  not  redeemed 
in  due  time,"  &c.  .  ' 

The  bank  is  charged  with  having  interfered  in  elections,  and  with 
having  used  its  corporate  funch,  for  the  sake  of  defraying  the  expenses 
of  publications  intended  to  influence  public  opinion.  The  hank  admits  it 
has  expended  varioirs  sunis  to  protect  itself  against  unfounded  accusa- 
tions, and  to  enh'ghten  public  opinion  as  to  the  nature  ami  operations  of 
the  bank.  By  looking  into  the  bank  statements  it  wiU  be  found,  that 
before  the  present  Chief  Magistrate  came  into  office,  the  expense  account 
for  printing,  was  only  a  few  hundred  dollars  per  annum.  In  the  two 
years,  1831  and  1832,  the  expense  account  for  "speeches  in  Congress, 
and  other  miscellaneous  publications,"  was  upwards  of  forty-one  thousand 
dollars.  In  the  last  of  those  years  was  the  presidential  election.  There 
can  be  no  mistake  as  to. facts;  in  this  case  they  are  shown,  and  openly 
admitted  by  the  bank.  The  justification. it'sets  up  is,  that  it  was  attacked 
by  the  President,  and  that  it  had  a  right  to  defend  itself.  The  resolu- 
tions of  the  board  show,  that  the  directors  authorized  the  president  of  the 
bank  to  expend  money  without  limitation,  for  such  purpose.  Now  I  ara 
willing  to  admit  that  a  corporation  may  defend  itself,  by  publishing  a 
contradiction,  or  giving  an  explanation  of  any  chargfe  made  against  it  by 
any  person  whatever ;  but  there  I  say  it  must  stop.  It  has  no  right,  by 
any  expenditure  of  its  corporate  funds,  .to  enhghten,  or  regulate  public 
opinion  on  the  science  of  banking.  . 

How  does  the  bank  say  the  President  attacked  it  ?  In  his  different 
messages  to  Congress.  These  communications  it  was  his  duty  to  make  if 
they  contained  his  sentiments,  and  he  beheved  it  for  the  public  interest 
that  these  opinions' should  be  made  known  to  the  national  legislature ; 
and  against  such  communications^  the  corporation  had  no.  right  to  make 
publications,  or  cause  them  to  be  made  by  others.  If  the  bank  is  useful 
to  the  public,  if  its  operations  are  beneficial  to  the  community,  that  com- 
mu'mty  and  its  publitJ  agents  will  advocate  its  utility.  The  individuals 
pomposing  the  corporation,  have  the  rights,  and  are  allowed  the  same 
powers,  through  the  press,  or  by  other  means,  to  defend  their  interests, 
that  other  individuals  have,  but  they  have  not  the  additional  riglit,  to 
nse  their  corporate  funds  for  the  same  purposes.  '  This  would  give  the 
corporation  such  an  advantage  over  individuals,  as  to  bear  them  down,  by 
the  mere  force  of  money.  The  corporation  has  no  right  to  use  a  dollat' 
for  any  purpose  not  specified  in  the  charter,  or  necessary  to  give  effect 
to  some  purpose  specified.  The  matters,  in  which  the  corporation  may 
trade,  or  deal,  are  specified.     All  others  are  forbidden.     It  has  no  right 


13?  MEMOIE    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

to  deal  in  "speeches,"  in  "addresses"  to  State  Legislatures,  or  in  "  mis- 
cellaneous publications."  If  it  has  a  right  to  expend  money  in  purchas- 
ing them,  it  has  a  right  to  make  money  by  selling  them.  Why  not  set  up 
a  bookstore?  The  principle  is  the  same.  Nay,  worse.  The  real  object 
is,  to  trade  in  public  opinion.  Not  to  buy  "  golden  opinions,"  but  to 
procure  opinions  by  the  use  of  gold.- 

Honorable  senators  who  argue  on  the  other  side,  say  the  bank  can  have 
no  influence  in  elections,  that  there  is  a  prejudice  against  moneyed  insti- 
tutions, and  that,  in  a  canvass,  they  would  rather  have  the  bank  against, 
than  for  them.  I  think  very  ditferently.  A,  bank  can,  and  often  has  a 
controlling  influence,  and  the  more  dangerous,  because  it  is  often  unseen  ; 
and  if  ever  I  should  be  engaged  in  a  contest  for  popular  favor,  I  would  feel 
much  more  safe  with  the  friendship,  than  with  the  enmity  of  the  bank. 

The  honorable  senator  from  Georgia  who  has  so  ably  and  so  eloquently 
sustained  the  course  of  the  Administration,  thinks  the  bank  can  never  in- 
fluence public  opinion,  and  adduces  the  result  of  the  last  presidential 
election,  as  a  proof  of  the  correctness  of  this  opinion.  Mr.  President,  I 
adrpit  the  bank  did  interfere  in  the  last  election  for  President ;  that,  it 
spared  no  pains  or  expense,  to  influence  the  pubhc  opinion  against  the 
present  Chief  Magistrate,  and  I  admit  he  was  elected  by  an  overwhelm- 
ing majority ;  but  I  deny  that  this  Avas  any  proof  tliat  the  bank  has  no  in- 
fitience,  on  ordinary  occasions,  where  men  of  common  standing,  and  or- 
dinary services,  are  competitors.  The  popularity  of  the  successful  candi- 
date, is  not  of  the  ordinary  kind — it  does  not  rest  on  the  common  found- 
ation. His  public  services  commenced  when  he  Avas  yet  a  boy.  At  the 
close  of  the  Revolution,  he  was  an  orphan,  without  relatives,  but  not  un- 
known, or  Avithout  friends.  His  services  and  his  conduct  had  already 
attracted  the  attention  of  some.  With  his  manhood  commenced  a  series 
of  public  services  and  employments,  Avhich  have  been  continued  through- 
out a. long  life,  and  one  for  usefulness,  having  hardly  any  parallel.  From 
these  sei'vices,  the  roots  of  his  popularity  struck  deep,  and  extended  far 
among  the  people  of  the  United  States.  They  AA^ere  Avatered  by  the  SAveat 
of  many  toils,  they  Avere  strengthened  by  numerous  and  imminent  perils, 
until  finally,  on  the  plains  of  NeAv  Orleans,  he  Avas  presented  in  an  aspect, 
and  his  character  proclaimed  to  the  Avorld  in  peals  of  thunder,  accompanied 
by  blazes  of  hglitning,  that  at  the  same  time  astonished,  and  drew  tears 
of  joy  from  the  eyes  of  patriots  Avithin  these  Avails.  These  services  em- 
bedded him  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen,  and  entlironed  him  in  their 
affections.  They  fixed  the  conviction  in  public  opinion,  that  he  possessed 
a  strength  of  mind,  which  the  eloquence  of'Delnosthenes  cannot  mislead; 
an  integrity,  which  the  wealth  of  Crossus  cannot  corrupt,  and  a  firmness, 
which  the  daring  boldness  of  Catiline  cannot  intimidate.  Tell  me  not, 
then,  that  the  result  of  this  election  is  a  proof  that  the  bank  can  have  no 
influence.    In  this  instance,  all  ages  and  sexes  kncAv  and  appreciated  the 


UNITED   6TATKS    BANK.-     ,  133 

eervToes  of  the  successful  candidate.  You  can  hardly  find  a  boy  twelve 
years  of  age,  who  cannot  tell  you  something  of  them.  But  let  a  canvass 
commence,  in  which  the  bank  feels  an  interest;  let  the  competitors  be 
men  whose  character  and  worth  are  only  known  to  few  pubhc  men  Avith 
whom  they  may  have  been  associated,  and  we  may  witness  a  very  differ- 
ent r^ult. 

Honorable  senators  cannot  perceive  how  the  bank,  throudi  the  use  of 
money  can  influence  public  measures.     Mr.  President,  "Money  is  tlie  root 
of  ^11  evil."    Men  desire  it,  because  it  stands  in  place  of  everything-  else. 
"With  it,  we  can  decorate  our  own  persons,, and  gratify  the  wishes  of  our 
families.    With  it,  we  can,  as  we  think,  procure  almost  every  temporal  com- 
fort.    While  we  are  men,  it  is  vain  to  talk  of  us  as  though  we  Avere  angels. 
I  can  imagine  many  cases,  in  which  the  use  of  money  might  have  a  de- 
cided influence  on  the  conduct  of  men  esteemed  virtuous  and'  eriightened. 
I  have  no  fear  of  the  influence  of  this  bank,  because  it  will  go,  or  send 
others  to  buy  votes,  among  the  mass  of  the  people,  by  giving  five  dollars 
to  one,  ten  dollars  to  another,  or  twenty  to  a  -third,     No  sir.     My  appre- 
hensions from  its  influence  are  of  a  diflferent  description.     Two  years  ago 
this  bank  applied  for  a  renewal  of  its  charter ;  you  [Mr.  King,  of  Alabama 
in  the  chair],  and  I,  both  opposed  it.     We  voted  against  it,  and  used  our 
best  exertions  to  defeat  it.     It  now  seeks  a  restoration  of  the  deposits 
and  an  extension  of  its  charter.     We  came  liere   determined  to  vote 
against  it,  upon  all  points,  and  such  we  believe  to  be  the  sentiments, 
and  wishes  of  those  we  represent.     Shortly  after  our  arrival,  you  are  in- 
formed that  your  crop  of  cotton  has  fallen  far  short  of  what  you  expected, 
and  that  its  price  is  much  lower  than  you  anticipated.     You  had  con- 
tracted a  debt,  say  for  ten  thousand  dollars,  which  you  had  dii-ected  your 
manager  to  pay  from  the  proceeds  of  this  crop.     He  informs  you  the  crop 
has  failed;  that  your  creditor  needs,  and  must  have  his  money.     (I  beg 
your  pardon  for  using  your  name  for  my  illustration,  take  my  own.) 
Here  I  am,  without  any  more  means  than  will  bear  current  expenses,  and 
here  I  must  stay  until  the  business  of  the  public  is  finished.     What  is  to 
be  done  ?    I  must  borrow  if  I  can,  but  from  whom?    Local  banks  have  ex- 
tended as  far  as  they  dare  go,  I  need  not  apply  to  them.     The  United 
States  Bank  has  means,  and  could  accommodate,  but  I  think  it  will  not  • 
it  knows  I  have  done,  and  will  continue  to  do,  all  I  can  to  disappoint  its 
wishes.     I  make  my  case  known  to  my  friends — tliey  advise  me  to  api)lj 
to  this  bank;  that  it  does  not  proceed  upon  the  selfish  and  illiberal  prin- 
ciples attributed  to  it.     I  prepare  my  note,  my  friends  endorse  it,  and  I 
make  my  application.     The  officers  tell  me  they  can  spare  the  money 
very  conveniently ;  that  they  know  the  debt  would  be  good',  but  if  the 
loan  was  made,  it  might  not  in  the  end  be  an  accommodation;  that  the 
bank  i.s  strugglingfor  its  existence,  against  all  the  influence  tlie  executive 
can  bring  to  bear— already  have  the  public  deposits  been  removed;  there 


134  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

is  no  certainty  tliey  -ttill  be  resk)red,  and  if  they  are, -unless  the  charter 
is  prolonged,  th«y  ranst'be  arranging  their  concerns  for  its  determination; 
therefore,  if  they  make  the  loan,  they  can  give  no  assiirance  how  long 
they  can  continue  -the  accommodation ;  that  they  know  I  fiaYe  been  op- 
posed to  Hie  bank,  vp»n  princijyle^  and  expect  me  to  continue  so,  but 
that  circumstance  can  make  no  difference;  that  it  would  .give  them  as 
much  pleasure  to  accommodate  me,  as  if  I  were  a  friend  to  the  institu- 
tion, provided  they  could  do  so.  My  credit  is  in  jeopardy — I  need,  and 
must  haVe  the  money ;  I  determine  to  take  it,  and  run  the  risk  of  being 
in  some  way  enabled  to  repay  it,  when  called  upon.  With  the  money,  I 
return  with  a  light  heart  to  my  lodging,  and  enclose  it  to  my  correspon- 
dent at  home,  Avith'instructions  to  lift  my  bond.  My  mind  dwells  upon 
the  transaction,  and  I  begin  to  conclude  after  all,  this  bank  is  not  so  bad 
as  it  has  been  represented :  its  con-duct  has  at  all  events  been  more  liberal 
to  me  than  I  had  any  reason  to  expect.  I  come  to  the  Senate  the  next  day, 
and  listen  attentively  to  the  arguments  adduced  to  prove,  that  the  Presr 
i4ent,  in>  removing  these  deposits,  has-  violated  the  public  faith  ;  that  he 
has  violated  the  chartered  rights  of  this  corporation ;  that  he  has  usurped 
a  power  not  vested  in  him  by  the  Constitution  or  laws,  and  that  if  such 
conduct  receives  no  rebuke,  the  government  will  be  changed,  and  all 
power  concentrated  in  the  hands  of  one  maii^  who  will  be  a  tyrant  or  a 
despot.  These  arguments  make  a  deep  impression;  I  reflect  upon  them: 
they  acquire  additional  force,  and  I  -am  sure  they  -would  have  been  satis- 
factory to  my  constituents,  if  they  could  have  heard  them;  more  espe- 
cially as  the  question  of  "Bank  or  no  Bank,"  is  not  invo'lved.  The  ques- 
tion is,  '■'■  Constihition  or  no  Constitution^'"  "Liberty  or  Slavery."  My 
mind  settles  down  in  favor  of  restoring ' the  deposits;  I  so  vote,  and  the 
deposits  are  restored.  What  next?  The  State  banks  have  extended  their 
loans,  on  the  strength  of  these  deposits,  wliich  are  now  to  be  withdrawn. 
These  accommodations  must  be  rapidly  curtailed ;  these  curtailments 
produce  bankruptcies,  and  ulimeasured  distress  in  society :  the  funds  ne- 
ijessary  to  protect  these  banks,  against  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  are 
taken  from  them,  and  placed  in  the  hands  of  an  enraged  rival ;  through 
these  funds  large  balances  are  immediately  accumulated  against  them; 
the  specie  \a  all  withdrawn  from  some  one,-and  it  i»  compelled  to  suspend 
specie  payments:  this  creates  a  "panic,"  which  produces  a  run  upon  all, 
and  ends  in  a  general  suspension  of  specie  payments.  Ilere  is  a  new  state 
of  things  ;  a  depreciated  local  currency.  If  we  have  bank  notes  at  all, 
they  ouglit  to  be  of  that  description,  that  five  dollars  here,  will  be  five 
dollars  everywhere  in  theUnian;  neither  I  nor  my  constituents,  will  be 
content  to  handle  as  money,  rags  and  trash,  witli  a  pocket  full  of  wliich  a 
puxn  could  not  pay  fyr  his  breakfast.  Up  comes  the  great  question  for 
reneicing  or  elongating  the  charter  of  this  bank;  "Bank  or  no  Bank," 
and  what  am  I  now  to  do  ?     This  is  precisely  similar  to  the  state  of  things 


UNITED   STATES    B^iN^.  135 

which  existed  ia  1816,  As  a  statesman,  I  must  adapt  my  legislation  to 
the  circumstauces  in  which  I  find  my  country.  In  the  like  circumstances, 
men  of  the  strongest  intellect,  most  cultivated  minds,  purest  patriot- 
ism, and  uusuUied  characters,  gave  up  their  constitutional  scruples,  and 
for  the  ^ake  of  purifying  the  "  currency,"  established  this  bank  ;  for  the 
like  reasons  I  -will  lay  down  my  old  opinions,  and  vote  to  continue  it. 
The  session  closes,  and  before  I  go  home,  I  call  at  the  bank  to  make  some 
arrangement  relative  to  my  loan,  until  I  can  return  at  the  next  session,  and 
pay  the- debt.  The  officers  tell  me  things  have  taken  a^  direction,  which 
they  did  not  anticipate ;  fortunately  public  agents  have  seen  tlie  public 
interest,  in  its  true  light;  the  bank  has  had  its  charter  enlarged;  its  busi- 
ness .will  be  continued,  and  must  of  necessity  require  the  services  of  some 
professional  man,  as  its  legal  adviser  and  attorney,  that  it  will  be  considered 
a  favor  if  I  will  accept  my  note  as  a  retaining  fee.  Thus  the  matter  ends. 
Now,  who  Avill  venture  in  the  case  supposed,  to  charge  me  with  corrup- 
tion, and  yet  does  not  every  one  /eeZ,  and  see  that  mon'ey  was  the  cause 
of  all  these  operations  through  which  the  mind,  passed?  We  must  take 
man  as  he  is;  if  properly  constituted,  acts  of  kindness  will  have  their  in- 
fluence upon  him,  and  none  can  certainly  say,  to  what  extent  they  may 
carry  him.  Who  can  be  unmoved,  while  his  "enemy  is  heaping  coals  of 
fire  upon  his  head,"  by  doing  him  aets  of  kindness,  which  add  to  his  com- 
forts ?     Few,  if  any,  who  are  composed  of  the  common  materials. 

Mr.  President :  It  appears  to  me  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
for  the  reasons  which  I  have  stated,  as  well  as  for  those  which  have 
been  stated  by  others,  and  which  I  have  no  inclinatioji  to, repeat,  had 
the  power  to  remove  the  public  moneys  from  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States,  and  place  them  in  other  banks  for  safe-keeping;  and  that  the 
conduct  of  the  bank  justifies  the  exercise  of  that  power.  But,  when  he 
came  to  form  an  opinion  whether  it  was.  good  policy  to  exercise  it^  or  not, 
a  question  was  presented,  upon  which  the  warmest  friends  of  the 
Admini.stration,  and  the  sternest  opposers  of  the  bank,  might  icell  and 
honestly  entertain  various  opinions.  The  immense  powers  of  this  bank 
— its  great  capacity  to  do  good,  or  inflict  evils  upon  this  community, 
and  the  unyielding  determination  it  had  manifested  to  pi-ocure  a  renewal 
of  its  charter,  if  possible,  might  well  make  the  prudent,  tlie  timid,  if  you 
choose,  decline  its  exercise.  But  the  deposits  have  been  removed,  and 
>*ith  me  the  question  now  is,  is  it  good  policy  to  restore  them.  I  say 
no.  I  am  opposed  to  prolonging  the  charter  of  this  bank ;  I  wish  its 
concerns  closed  when  the  charter  expires.  It  is  said  the  country  is 
distressed.  I  believe  it.  The  deposits  have  been  removed  into  State 
banks,  and  accommodations  have  been  extended  on  the  strength  of  these 
deposits.  If  the  deposits  are  restored  these  accommodations  must  be 
withdrawn.  This  avIU  make  the  confu.sion  greater,  and  add  to  the 
distresses.     The  United  States  Bank  is  under  no  necessity,  as  has  been 


136  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

clearly  demonstrated  by  the  senator  from  Missouri,  to  curtail  its  accom- 
modations any  farther  at  present.  If  the  deposits  are  restored,  the  bank 
■will  be  under  no  obHgatiojis  to  graijt  any  increased  accommodations  oi> 
account  of  them:  if  it  does,  tliey  must  be  limited  in  amount,  and  for 
short  periods.  If  the  bank  is  to  be  wound  up  it  must  collect  its  debts, 
and  pay  what  it  owes.  By  restoring  the  deposits,  you  put  the  State 
banks  in  the  power  of  this  bank  to  destroy  them,  and  to  compel  them 
to  suspend  specie  payments  at  will.  This  pov^er,  I  fear,  -would  be 
exerted,  if  it  were  believed  that  that  was'  the  most  certain  mode  in 
which  to  procure  a  renewed  charter. 

The  honorable  senator  from  Massachusetts  thinks  the  deposits  ought 
td  lie  restored,  and  the  bank  rechartered,  and  that  this  is  an  effectual 
plan  to  relieve  a  distressed  community.  "With  the  opinions  he  enter- 
tains, his  policy  is  sound.  He  is  correct  throughout,  and  consistent. 
If  I  believed  as  he  does,  that  we  had  power  to  charter  a  bank,  and  that 
this  bank  was  an  essential  agent  for  the  government,  and  its  operations 
a  blessing  to  the  community,  I  would  go  with  him  and' say,  the  deposits 
ought  not  to  have  been  removed ;  they  ought  to  be  restored ;  the  bank 
rechartered,  and  society  put  at  rest.  •  But,  believing  we  have  no  such 
power  (and  if  we  had,  that  it  ought  hot  to  be  exeroised),  to  restore  these 
deposits,  would,  I  think,  aggravate  existing  distresses,  -  and  make  "con- 
fusion worse  confounded." 

Mr.  President,  it  has  been  urged,  that  if  there  has  been  any  impro- 
priety in  the  conduct  of  the  bank,  such  conduct  will  find  a  justification 
in  the  conduct  of  the  Chief  Magistrate ;  that  he  has  been  guilty  of  an 
usurpation  of  power ;  that  his  course  has  been  tyrannical ;  that  he  has 
violated  chartered  riglits,  the  Constitution  of  his  country,  and  the  public 
faith.  These  are  high  charges,  made  with  great  freedom,  and,  maintained 
by  distinguished  ability.  I  am  not  among  the  number  of  those  who  find 
fault  with  this  course,  on  the  part  of  those  opposed  to  the  Administra- 
tion. Our  liberty  depends  on  the  freedom  with  which  we  examine  the 
conduct  of  those  in  high  offices.  If  the  chai-ges  are  not  well  founded^ 
making  them  cannot  do  harm  to  those  again^  whom  they  are  made ; 
and  if  well  founded,  society  is  benefitted  by  having  their  misdeeds  pub- 
licly exposed.  The  whole  of  these  charges  rest  upon  the  supposition 
that  the  President  has  assumed  and  exercised  powers,  with  which  he  was 
not  vested  by  the  Constitution  oV  laws  of  the  United  States.  , 

.  We  are  here  naturally  led  to  inquire,  what  has  he  done,  and  what  is 
the  nature  or  character  of  the  power  he  has  exercised.. 

He  has  removed  one  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  and  appointed  another. 
He  called  Upon  the  directors  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  which, 
Avith  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  he  had  appointed,  to  report 
to  him  the  manner  in  which  the  business  of  that  institution  had  been 
conducted  and  was  being  conducted.     After  he  received  their  report,  he 


UNITED   STATES    BANK.  137 

determined  that  the  public  moneys  to  be  collected  after  the  l&t  October 
Jast,  should  not  be  deposited  in  that  bank,  but  placed  in  other  banks  for 
safe-leeping^  until  called,  for  to  satisfy  appropriations  made  by  Congress. 
The  whole  power  then,  which  the  President  has  undertaken  to  exercise, 
is  neither  more  nor  less  than  this,  that  he,  as  the  Chief  Magistrate,  has 
the  power  to  construe  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United  States  to 
endeavor  to  ascertain  their  true  meaning,  and  then  carry  that  meaning  intp 
et&ct,  so  far^s  depends  upon  his  own  action,  or  the  action  of  those  infe- 
rior officers  appointed  to  aid  him  in  the  discharge  of  his  executive  duties. 
It  appears  evident  to  me  that  he  possesses  this  power,  and  that  his  wliolo 
duties  consist  in  exercising  such  powers.     He,  therefore,  has  not  assumed 
or  taken  upon  himself  to  exercise  any  power,  which,  in  its  nature,  he 
did  not  possess.     In  its  exercise  he  may  be  mistaken  ;  he  may  think  the 
framers  of  the  Constitution  or  law  meant  one  thing,  when  they  intended 
another ;  but  this  would  only  be  an  error  in  judgment,  if  unintentional, 
or  an  abuse  of  power,  if  designed:   in  neither  case  would  it  be  an 
assumption  of  unauthorized  power.     In  what  manner  then  did  he  exert 
this  power  ?     He  sought  the  necessary  information  to  enable  him  and 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  form  a  correct  opinion,  whether  the 
power  given  to  the  Secretary,  in  the  16th  section  of  the  act  incorpo- 
rating the  bank,  to  remove  the  public  deposits,  ought  to  be  exerted 
or  not.     When  this  information  was  obtained,  he  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  public  interest  required  that  they  should  be  removed.     The 
then  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  came  to- the  conclusion  that  the  deposits 
ought  not  to  be  removed,  and  that  as  he  was  the  officer  appointed  by 
the  act  to  give  the  order,  he  was  constituted  the  sole  judge,  and  that  the 
President  had  no  power  to  control  him.     He,  therefore,  refused  to  give 
the  order,  and  refused  to  resign:    the  President   dismissed  him,  and 
appointed  another,  who  agreed  with  him  in  opinion,  and  ordered  the 
deposits  to  be  removed.     Had  the  President  a  constitutional  power  to  do 
this  ?     I  have  no  doubt  he  possessed  tlie  power.     By  the  first  section  of 
the  second  article  of  the  Constitution,  the  executive  power  is  vested  in 
the  President  of  the  United  States.     In  every  government  there  are  two 
general  classes  of  power;  one  to  make  th^  law,  the  other  to  execute  it. 

By  our  Constitution  this  latter  class  is  subdivided  into  judicial  and 
executive.     "We,  therefore,  have  three  great  departments: 
^  1.  Congress,  to  make  laws,  with  the  aid  of  the  President,  upon  all  sub- 
jects confided,  by  the  Constitution,  to  the  general  government.  , 

2.  The  judiciary,  to  expound  and  enforce,  or  execute  the  laws  confided 
to  that  department. 

3.  And  the  executive  power,  which  is  vested  in  the  President,  and 
comprehends  the  whole  executive  power  given  by  the  Constitution,  and 
not  expressely  conferred  somewhere  else. 

The  whole  judicial  power  is  vested  in  a  Supreme  Court,  and  such  infe- 


138  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

rior  courts  as  .Congress  may,  from  time  to  time,  ordain  and  establisli. 
The  Treasury  department  belongs  to  the  executive  department,  by  tho 
Constitution.  It  has  no  connection  with  the  power  of  making  laws, 
therefore,  belongs  not  to  the  legislative  department.  It  belongs  not  to 
the  Supreme,  or  to  any  inferior  court,  therefore,  is  no  part  of  the  judi- 
ciary. The  only  remaining  department  is  the  executive,  to  which  it 
must  belong. 

It  appears  evident  to  me,  that  theframersof  the  Constitution  intended 
that  the  executive  power  should  be  vested  in  one  head,  who  would  "be 
bound  not  only  to  discharge,  faithfully,  all  his  own  personal  duties^  but 
likewise  should  be  clothed  with  the  necessary  powers  to-  compel  the  infe- 
rior officers  in  the  executide  department,  to  pei'form  theirs  likewise. 
The  President  is  boiind  to  see  that  the  laws  are  faithfully  executed.  This 
gives  him  no  power  over  the  judiciary.  The  courts  have  their  appro- 
priate duties  confided  to  tliem  by  the  laws  and  the  Constitution,  and 
discharge  them  independently  of  the  executive.  But  aU  executive 
©ffic^rs  -falling  within  the  executive  department,  he  has,  and  must  have, 
a  power  to  control.  The  heads  of  departments  are  appointed  by  him; 
they  can  only  be  displaced  by  him,  or  by  impeacliment  and  conviction. 
If  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  should  put  an  improper  construction 
upon  a  revenue  law,  and  would  neither  give  up  his  constructioa,  nor 
retU'e,  he  might  defeat  the  collection  of  the  whole  revenue  before  'Con- 
gress would  be  in  session,  unless  the  President  had  the  pow^r  of  remov- 
ing him.  In  this  very  case,  suppose  the  President  had  believed  the  whole 
of  the  money  in  the  bank  would  be  wasted  before  the  session  of  Congress, 
and  had  called  upon  the  Secretary  to  remove  them,  and 'he  had  refused, 
saying,  he  conscientiously  believed  there  was  no  danger,  and  the  Presi- 
dent had  yielded,  from  a  bejief  that  he  had  no  power  to  i-emove  him  in 
such  a  case,  and  the  money  had  been  aU'wasted.  Would  any  gentleman 
justify  the  President.  I  think  not?  When  they  conscientiously  dis- 
agree, "one  must  yield,  or  retire,  and  that  should  be  the  subordinate* 
otherwise  we  have  no  executive  government,  of  any  practical  utility. 
There  is  one  thing  in  which  I  think  Mr,  Duane  was  right,  and  that  is  in 
not  giving  the  order  for  removal,  unless  he  had  been  conxineed  Ins 
opinion  against  the  i-emoval  was  wrong;  but  his  error,  as  I  think,  con- 
sisted in  not  withdrawing  from  the  department.  .  While  he  believed  a 
proper  case  was  not  made  for  the  removal,  and  that  a  public  injury 
would  be  done  by  the  removal,  no  consideration  ought  to  have  induced 
him  to  sign  an  order  for  such  a  purpose.  But  if  tho  President  believed 
they  ought  to  be  removed,  and  that  a  great  public  injury  would  result 
from  permitting  them  to  reinain,  and  his  Secretary  would  neither  give 
th'<)  order  nor  retire,  I  think  ho  had  tlie  power  to  remove  him. 

But,  Mr.  President,  although  I  think  the  Chief  Magistrate  does  possess 
this  power,  yet  I  believe  it  is  one  to  be  exercised  with  great  caution,  and 


UNITED    STATES   BANK.  139 

only  in  cases  wliere  he  is  clearl}*  convinced  the  pulilic  interests  demahd 
its  exercise.  This  point  has  been  so  fally  examined,  and  ably  main- 
tained by  gentlemen  who  hare  preceded  me,  that  I  will  no  longer  dwell 
upon  it.     ■  - 

Had  the  President  a  right  to  call  upon  the  government  directors,  and 
to  receive  reports  from  them,  of  the  manner  in  which  the  business  of  the 
bank  had  been  conducted  ?  Some  honorable  members  have  denied  that 
he  had.  On  a  former  occasion,  I  stated  my  doubts  as  to  their  construc- 
tion of  the  charter.  Since  then,  I  have  examined  it  with^toore  attention, 
and  am  satisfied-  their  limited  construction'  is  inaccur&te.  I  .will',  ^8 
briefly  as  I  can,  state  the  reasons  which  have  led  to  the  opinion  I 
entertain. 

Jn  our  examination  of"  the  act  incorporating  this  bank,  we  ought  never 
to  forget^  that  the  very  objects  of  its  creation  were  high  national  ones.  To 
restore  and  j)f^s6rve  a  sound  circulating  medium  to  the  community,  and  to 
act  as  fiscal  agent,  in  receiving  and  paying  out  the  public  moneys.  To 
accomplish  these  important  objects,  there  are  to  be  twenty-five  directors 
to  manage  the  institution ;  five  of  these  were  to  be  appointed  by  the 
President,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate.  These 
directors  are  to  hold  their  appointments  for  one  year,  and  until  others 
are  appointed;  and  an  express  power  is  given  to  the  President  to  remove 
the  five  government  directors,  Avithin  the  year,  if  he  believes  the  public 
interest  requires  it.  By  the  1st  section,  the  United  States  are  to  subscribe 
for  seventy  thousand  shares,  equal  to  seven  millions  of  dollars,  wliich  is 
one  fifth  of  the  whole  capital.  By  the  Tth  section  of  tlie  act,  the  stock- 
holders are -tested  with  a  power  to  make  such  by-laws,  rules,  and  regu- 
lations, for  the  gavernment  of  the  corporation,  and  for  the  management 
of  its  aff'airs,  as  to  them  may  seem  proper,  not  inconsistent  with  tho 
Constitution  or  laws.  In  the  making  of  these  by-laws,  ordinances,  rules, 
and  regulations,  the  United  States  were  to  have  nV  voice,  no  vote.  By 
the<5th  rule  in  the  11th  section,  it  is  provided  that  a  number  of  stock- 
holders, not  less  than  sixty,  who  together  shall  be  proprietors  of  one 
thousand  shares,  o^-  upwards,  shall  li^ve  the  power  at  any  time,  to  call  a 
general  meeting  of  the  stockholders,  for  purposes/ relative  to  the  insti- 
tution, giving  at  least,  ten  weeks'  notice,  in  two  public  newspapers  of  the 
place  -^vhere  the  bank  is  seated,  and  specifying  in  each  notice,  the  object 
or  objects  of  such  meeting.  By  this  provision,  sixty  stockholders  owning 
one  thousand  shares,  can  call  a  general  meeting  wlienever  they  have 
reason  to  fear  their  business  is  mismanaged.  Tliey  can  call  their  clireetors 
to  account  and  examine  into  their  whole  proceedings,  and  make  any  alter- 
ations or  regulations  they  think  their  interests  may  require.  At  this 
general  meeting,  the  United  States  are  unrepresented  ;  they  have  no  voice; 
they  have  no  vote,  they  have  no  person  to  attend,  either  fo  receive,  or  to 
give  any  information,  although  they  own  seventy  thousand  shares,  worth 


140  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

seven  millions.  Is  it  possible  for  us  to  suppose  the  executive'  branch  of 
the  government  Avas  intended  to  be  excluded  from  all  knowledge  of 
the  manner  In  which  the  institution  was  conducted ;  that  the  United 
States,  owning  one-fifth  of  the  whole  stock,  should  have  no  voice  in 
making  laws  for  the  government  of  the  directors,  and  no  means  of  know- 
ing whether  they  conformed  their  conduct  to  the  laws  or  not ;  more 
especially  that  they  should  have  no  means  of  knowing  whether  the , 
policy  prescribed  and  pursued,  was  likely  to  carry  into  effect  the  high 
governmental  purpose  of  preserving  a  sound  currency?  I  cannot  think 
it  possible.  Such  a  construction  I  must  be  permitted  to  say,  with  great 
deference,  would,  in  my  judgment,  be  a  severe  refection  upon  the  enlight- 
ened men  who  passed  this  Act.. 

But  if  we  admit,  which  I  think  we  ought,  that  they  intended  the  five 
government  directors  should  have  an  eqxial  agency  with  any  other  equal 
number  of  directors,  in  the  management  of  the  aflfairs  of  the  bank,  and 
that  they  should  be  lound  at  any  time,  when  called  upon  by  the  execu- 
tive, representing  the  United  States,  their  constituents^  to  report  to  him 
exactly  the  same  information,  which  the  private  stockholders  at  a  general 
meeting  might  demand  of  their  directors^  then  every  thing  is  consistent 
and  reasonable. 

My  construction' is,  I  think,  very  much  strengthened,  by  the  provisions 
in  the  23d  section,  which  enacts  '>  that  it  shall  at  all  tiines  be  lawful  for  a 
committee  of  either  house  of  Congress,  appointed  for  that  purpose,  to 
inspect  the  books,  and  examine  into  the  proceedings  of  the  corporation 
hereby  enacted,  and  to  rqjort  whether  the  provisions  of  this  charter  have 
been  by  the  same  violated  or  not ;  and  whenever  any  committee,  as  afore- 
said, shall  find  and  report,  or  tlie  President  of  the  United  States  shall  have 
reason  to  lelieve,  that  the  charter  has  been  violated,  ft  may  be  lawful  for 
Congress  to  direct,  or  the  President  to  order,  a  scire  facias  to  be  sued 
out,"  &c.-  It  must,  I  think,  strike  every  one  reading  this  section,  w'ith 
great  force,  that  complete  power  is  given  to  Congress  to  acquire  the  most 
precise  information,  to  enable  it  to  judge  Avhether  the  charter  has  been  so 
far  violated,  as  to  make  the  issuing  a  scire  facias  necessary.  In  the  same 
section  a  power  is  given  to.  the  President,  to  direct  a  scire  facias.,  if  he 
has  reason  to  lelieve  the  charter  is  violated.  From  what  source  is  he  to 
acquire  a  knowledge  of  facts  upon  which  to  found  his  opinion?  Not  the 
report  of  the  committee.  Congress  is  to  act  upon  it,  if  any  person.  '  It 
would  be  absurd  to  suppose  that  itrwas  intended  Congress  should  procure 
the  information^  and  not  to  order  any  scire  facias.^  and  that  the  President 
should  tipon  the  same  report.,  direct  one  to  be  issued.  Congress  was  to  act 
upon  the  report  of  its  own  committee;  the  President  to  give  his  direction 
upon  infonnafi-on  derived  from  some  other  source,  and  that  soui<ce  is  the 
report  of  t?ie  directors  whom  he  had  appointed,  and  had  a  power  to 
remove,  for  faithless  or  unwise  conduct.   This  construction  is  fartlier  con- 


UKITED   STATES    BANK.  141 

fimietl  when  we  see  in  the  same  section,  that  in  the  scire  facias  the  facts 
which  it  is  supposed  have  constituted  a  violation  of  tlrfe  charter,  must  be  set 
down  so  precisely^  that  an  issue  can  be  taken  npon  them,  and  tried  by  a 
jury.  What  has  been  alleged  ia  favor  of  the  opposite  construction? 
Nothing,  except  that  it  is  said,  the  five  government  directors  shall,  with 
the  other  twenty,  manage  and  direct  the  bank.  To  single  out  a  single 
expression  or  paragraph,  and  fix  the  meaning  from  that  alone,  is  not  the 
sound  rule  of  interpretation  ;  we  must  take  the  whole  act,  compare  one 
part  with  another,  an.d  fix  the  meaning  from  the  context.  Or  what  is 
still  more  correct ;  we  must  ascertain  the  spirit  and  meaning  of  the  act, 
and  giTe  it  such  interpretation  as  will  give  eiFect  to  the,  will  of  the  law- 
giver. If  my  construction  needs  farther  aid,  its  correctness  is  proved 
beyond  "cpestion,  by  the  debates  when  the  act  was  under  consideration. 
Those  who  opposed  that  provision  in  the  charter  which  allows  directors 
to  be  appointed,  insisted  the  provision  shoul(J  be  stricken  out,  because 
these  directors  would  be  "*/?ies,"  and  informers.  The  friends  to  the  pro- 
vision say  it  ought  to  be  retained,  because  we  want  these  directory  as 
"  sentinels  en,the, watch  towe^","  to  give  information.  By  what  rule  then 
is  it  that  we  are  to  say  the  executive  has  violated  the  charter,  in  calling 
for  these  repoi'ts,  or  the  directors  for  having  made  them?  .  By  none  here- 
tofore recognized  as  a  sound  one.  The  true  rule  is,  to  ascertain  what  the 
legislature  intended  when  they  were  enacting  the  law,  and  then  say,  that 
is  its  construction  now.  My  view  of  this  subject  is,  rendered  still  more 
certain  by  the  opinion  of  a  distinguished  gentleman  from  New  York,  who 
was  at  the  head  of  a  most  respectable  committee  of  the  House  of  Eepresen- 
tatives,  in  November,  1818.  They  had.  given  this  charter,  and  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  directors  under  it,  a  laborious  examination,  and  had 
maturely  considered  the  whole  subject.  One  paragraph,  in  their  report, 
connected  with  a  proposition  of  Mr.  Spencer,  the  chairman,  shortly 
afterwards,  shows  conclusively,  his  opinion  upon  this  point.  Tlie  report 
is  in  these  words :  "Two  by-laWs  of  the  bank,  seem  to  your  committee 
to  deserve  notice  ;  one  of  them  that  no  discounts  shall  be  made  without 
tlxe  consent  of  three-fourths  of  the  directors  present,"  and  another,  "  that 
no  director  shall,  without  especial  authority,  be  pei:mitted  to  inspect  the 
cash  account  of  any  person  with  the  bank.  These  by-laws  appear  to 
render  nugatory  the  provisions  of  the  charter  authorizing  the  appoint- 
ment by  the  government  of  one-fifth  of  the  whole,  number  of  directors, 
and  are  different  from  the  jjf  ovisions,  in  that  respect,  by  the  foi;mer  Bank 
of  the  United  States,  although  most  of  the  local  banks  in  Philadelphia 
have  similar  regulations.  Should  a  state  of  things  exist,  in  whicli  the 
stockholders  should  deem  their  interest  hostile  to  that  of  the  nation,  such 
provisions  as  these  stated  would  render  the  government  directors  mere 
spectators  of  the  proceedings  of  the  board." 

The  proposition  afterwards  submitted  by  Mr.  Spencer,  contained  various 


142  MEMOIK    OF     HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

matters,  intended  as  amendments  of  the  charter ;  the  5th  is  in  these  words : 
"  That  no  by-law  of  the  said  corporation,  shrtil  exclude  }7ie  directors 
appointed  by  the  government,  from  a  /nil  hwtdedge  of  all  the  concerns 
of  the  bank,  and  of  the  accounts  of  every  person  dealing  with  ^  5  and  thiat 
the  assent  of  at  least  one- public  director,  shall  be  necessary  to  allow  any 
discount,  and  to'render  valid  every  act  of  the  board  of  directors."*     ^ 

By  the  report,  it  is  obvious  the  draughtsman  and  a  majority  of  the 
committee,- at  least,  were  of  opiqion  that  the  government  directors  were 
doun^  to  report  whatever  information  they  could  ..acquire.  Mi\  Spenxjer 
believed  that  the  by-laws  restricted  them  too  much,  and  that  they  ought 
to  have  access  to  every  account  in  the  bank,  ae  well  as  tlie-pW?;rtfe  accounts 
of  individuals,  as  the  general  accounts.  Why  enlarge  the  field  in  which 
these  directors  were  to  collect  information,  unless  they  were  at  liberty  to 
communicate  all  they  could  collect  when  required?  Thus  then,  it  seems 
to  me,  the  context,  tlie  spirit  and  meaning  of  the  charter,  compel  m  to 
conclude.  Congress  intended  the  government  directors  should  make 
reports.  The  fri-ends  and  enemies  of  tiie  charter  agreed  that  that  was  the 
intention,  at. the  time  the  act  was  on  its  passage,  and  such  has  been  con- 
sidered its  construction  ever  since,  until  this  controversy.  If  the  con- 
trary is  now  settled  to  be  its  meaning,  and  the  directors  are  not  at  liberty 
to  communi<?ate  apy  information;  if  tha whole  proceedings-t)f  the  board", 
and  all  the  operations  of  this  great  moneyed  institution,  in  which  the 
government  has  so  much  at  hazard,  and  which  can  so  materially  affect 
every  interest  in  the  community,  are  to  be  kapt  profound  secrete,  then  I 
niust  be  permitted  to  believe  it  is  too  odious,  and  too  dangerous,  to  be 
tolerated  one  moment  longer  than  we  are  now  compelled  to  allow  it  to 
exist. 

Mr.  President,  I  have  now  discharged  a  duty,  fur  from  pleasing  to  myself. 
It  was  due  to  those  who  sent  me,  as  well  as  to  others,  that  from  my  place 
in  this  body,  1  should  state  the  reasons  upon  which  I  expect  to  rest  my 
votes.  Having  done  so,  I  will  only  add  my  acknowledgments  to  the 
Senate,  for  their  patient  attention,  after  the  subject  had  been  so  long,  and 
so  ably  discussed,  as  to  have  left  no  hope  that  anything  I  could  say, 
would  be  matter  of  interest  either  jiere  or  elsewhere. 


The  following  letter,  dated  the  day  before  the  delivery  of  the 
speech,  is  of  some  importance  as  showing  Judge  White's  sentiments 
as  to  the  obligation  resting  upon  him  in  regard  to  it.  The  expression 
.of  his  sentiments  was  a  (ielicate.task,  tut. one  which  his  constituents 
expected  him  to  perform ;  and  he  acquitted  himself  satisfactorily  to 
those  with  whom  he  acted,  and  in  such  a  manner  as  to  give  no  just 
cause  of  offence  to  those  who  differed  from  him  iu  opinion.     He  com- 


UNITED   STATES    BANK.  143 

mences  with  some  very  sound  reflections  suggested  by  a  dissension 
among  some  of  his  friends  in  Tennessee  : 

The  majority  of  men  are  selJ5sh ;  and  whenever  their  plans  for  Wealth 
or  honor  are  not  seconded  by  others,  their  hostihty  is  sure  to  manifest 
itself;  but  by  bearing  With  them,  such  hostility  will  only  last  until  they 
see  that  the  object  of  their  wrath  has  again  the  power  of  giving  them 
assistance.  Then,  simulated  friendship  again  returns,  and  all  is  weU. 
The  life  of  a  useful  public  man  is  necessarily  one  of  sacrifices 'of  interest 
and  feelings.  By  these  sacrifices  alone  ca^  he  live  down  the  daily  slanders 
with  which  he  is  loaded. 

On  to-mprrow,  if  I  live  and  am  favored  with  tolerable  health,  I  intend 
fso  express  some  of  the  opinions,  I.  entertain,  on  the  topics*  so  long  and  so 
ably  discussed.  In  the  extensive  field,  hardly  a  head  is  left  for  the 
gleaner ;  but  if  I  say  nothing,  the  motives  of  my  silence  may  be  misrepre- 
sented ;  therefore  something  must  be  said. 

I  haye  felt  embarrassed,  and  still  do,  by  the  following  circumstance. 
Last  summer  the  President  asked  my  opinion  as  to  -the  removal  of  the 
deposits'.  I  thought,  with  the  information  I  then  had,  it  was  bad  pohcy, 
and  so  told  him.  Although  this  correspondence  was  confidential,  my 
letter  was  sh<}wa  to  his  cabinet,  and  to  others.  Thus  you  see  the  unplea- 
sant situation  in  which  I  am  placed,  by  acting  with  that  frankness  towards, 
and  friendship  which  I  hope  ever  to  feel  for,  the  Chief  Magistrate.  Thus 
situated,  I  thought  silence  best  became  me.  I^^ow,  we  have  arrived  at  a 
point  where,  ip  my  opinion,  silence  would  be  censurable.  I  must  there- 
fore present  my.  opinions  as  they  are  honestly  entertained,  regardless  of 
all  consequences. 

He  adds,  with  terse  sincerity,  in  reply  to  a  suggestion  that  his  name 
should  be  used  for  the  presidential  candidacy  in  the  election  of  1836  : 

There  are  in  my  mind  two  reasons  why  my  friends  ought  not  to  think 
of  using  my  name  as  you  suggest.  1st.  The  public  do  not  wish  it. 
2d.  I  do  not. 

Condy  Raguet,  the  well-known  IBnancial  writer,  addressed  to  Judo-e 
White,  March  28,  1834,  the  following  dextei'ous  letter,  which  refers 
to  the  subject  of  the  bank,  and  likewise,  though  very  indistinctly,  in 
the  final  paragraph,  to  the  same  plan  of  making  Judge  White  a 
|)residential  candidate  in  the  election  of  1836  : 

Dear  Sir:  The  high  opinion  I  entertain  of  your  pubhc  character  and 
private  integrity  induces  me  to  address  you  this  letter.    Being  one  of  the 

*  Topics  connected  with  the  Bank. 


144  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSOJT    WHITE. 

very  few  indiWcIuals  north  of  the  Potomac  who  entertttin  a  conscientious 
conviction  of  the  unconstitutionaUty  of  a  federal  bank,  I  feel  a  deep  con- 
cern lest  the  course  which  public  opinion  seems  to  be  taking,  may  bring 
about  a  state  of  things  far  more  disastrous  than,  has  yet  been  anticipated. 
I  allude  to  the  mania  for  the  incorporation  of  State  bank&  with  immense 
capitals,  founded  solely^upon  the  expectation  of  having  the  control  of  the 
public  money.  These  banks,  if  tliey  should  be  chartered  in  various  States, 
might  by  combinations  be  rendered  as  dangerous  to  the  peace  of  the 
country  as  any  single  federal  bank  ;  and  it  seems  to  me  that  all  wh6'  are 
opposed  upon  principle  to  the  extension  of  paper  machinery,  should  use 
their  influence  in  preventing  it.  •  > 

Taking  it  for  granted  that  th-ere  is  not  the  most  remote  probability  of 
thfe  renewal  of  the  charter  of  the  present  bank  for  any  length  of  time, 
long  or  short,  or  of  the  incorporation  of  a  new  one,  during  the  term  of 
service  of  the  present  executive,  and  believing  that  the  future  hai)piness 
of  the  country  demands  that  the  government  should  be  wholly  separated 
from  the  banking  system  in  all  its  forms^  I  have  thrned  the  subject  .over 
in  my  mind,  and  have  placed  on  paper  the  result  of  my  reflections',  written 
as  I  would  have  worded  an  editorial  article.  This  sketch  I  enclose  for 
your  perusal.  If  you  think  that  it  contains  any  suggestions  which  can  be 
made  nseful,  it  is  at  your  se'rvicfe.  If  not,  be  pleased  to  return  it  to  me, 
and'  allow  me  to  sa^  that  as  I  Iiave  no  right  to  intrude  my  opinions  upon 
you  in  such  a  way  as  to  appear  to  invite  yours,  it  will  give  me  no  umbrage 
if  you  do  so  without  a  word  of  comment.  The  question  at  issue  is  one 
ttpon  which  honest  men  widely  differ,  and  as  I  do  not  know  your  senti- 
ments in  relation  to  it,- 1  cannot  be  charged  with  rudeness  in  making 
known  to-  you  mine.  I  consider  the  country  to  be  in  a  fearful  state,  and 
would  be  glad  to  see  some  friend  of  the  Administration  upon  whose 
virtue  and  principles  I  could  rely,  bring  forward  some  measure  for  relief. 
I  am,  dear  sir, 

With  sentiments  of  much  respect, 
.        ■  ■  Your  ob't  serv't, 

CoxDY  Raguet. 

P.  S. — After  writing  the  above,  and  before  the  letter  was  sealed,  a 
respectable,  gentleman  whom  I  happened  to  see,  made  the  following  re- 
mark. "  Thei-e  are  two  pai'ties  here,  one  of  which  would  do  anything  to 
put  down  Generar Jackson,  and  the  otlier  anything  to  sustain  him.  But 
there  is  a  tliird  party,  and  a  very  large  one,  ^vho  care  not  a  straw  about 
■who  is  President,  but  who  anxiously  desire  to  see  some  measure  of  relief 
for  the  country,  let  it  operate  against,  or  in  favor  of,  whom  it  may." 
This  is  no  doubt  true ;  and  the  man  who  should  propose  in  Congress  and 
carry  thi-ough  a  measure  calculated  to  conciliate  all  parties,  by  yielding 
something  to  each,  would  merit,  and  would  receive,  the  applause  of  the 
whole  people." 


LETTER  TO   CONDY   RAGUET.  145 

This  letter  Judge  White  "answered,  April  C,  1834,  with  a  noble  and 
complete  statement  of  absolute  political  independence,  and  a  manly 
avowal  of  consciousness  of  the  comparatively  uninfluential  station 
which  such  independence  must  always  necessitate ;  and  with  a  clear 
and  vigorous  summary  of  his  opinions  on  the  points  of  the  bank 
question,  as  follows : 

Dear  Sir:  Your  letter  dated  29th  iilt.,  atid  the-  project  which  accom- 
panied it,  reached- me  in  due  course  of  the  mail.  Other  duties  have  pre- 
vented my  answer  at  an  earlier  day.  I  feel  gratified  that  my  course  has 
been  such  as  to  be  approved  by  one  whom  I  think  so  well  qualified  to 
form  correct  opinions  in  everything  which  relates  to  the  fundamental 
principles  of  our  government. 

Nothing  could  give  me  more  pleasure  than  to  be  the  instrument  of 
doing  something  which  would  be  of  lasting  benefit  to  the  people  whose 
interests  are  liable  to  be  affected  by  my  public  conduct.  But  I  feel  too 
little  confidence  in  my  own  abilities,  and  am  sure  that  my  hold  upon  pub- 
lic opinion  is  too  slender,  to  permit  the  hope  that  this  can  ever  be  effected 
by  venturing  to  become  a  leader.  I  do  not  carry  on  political  or  friendly 
correspondence  with  any  man  living :  I  have  a  cordial  dislike  for  every- 
thing like  contrivance,  by  which  to  put  or  keep  any  man  or  set  of  men 
in  power.  Thus  you  will  see  my  course  is"  too  individual  for  me  to  be 
useful  on  a  large  scale.  My  whole  aim  and  ambition  is  to  fix  in  my  own 
mind  the  political  principles  which  in  my  own  opinion  best  accord  with 
the  Constitution,  and  then  to  give  them  such  practical  effect  as  will  be 
productive  of  the  most  good. 

Upon  the  great  questions  which  now  so  agitate  the  public  mind,  I  have 
employed  myself  industriously,  with  an  anxious  desire  to  come  to  correct 
conclusions,  and  I  give  you  the  results  with  that  candor  which  I  hope 
belongs  to  my  character. 

I  do  not  believe  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  vests  in  Con- 
gress any  power  to  charter  a  bank,  nor  do  I  think  the  precedents  which 
have  been  furnished  are  binding  as  authorities  upon  this  or  any  future 
Congress. 

I  do  not  believe  the  present  Congress  has  any  more  power  to  prolong 
this  charter  for  even  a  year,  than  that  of  1816  had  to  grant  it  for  twenty 
years. 

If  Congress  had  the  power  to  incorporate  a  bank,  I  do  not  think  it 
ought  to  be  exercised.  Money  in  large  masses  ought  to  be  dreaded,  and 
the  fewer  hands  it  is  placed  in  the  more  it  is  to  be  dreaded.  If  continued, 
the  executive  and  the  bank,  in  time,  must  and  and  will  unite  their  influ- 
ence ;  and  when  they  do,  they  will  endanger  our  liberties. 

I  think  the  President  had  the  power  to  remove  the  Secretary  of  the 

10 


146  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSQN    WHITE. 

Treasury,  if  he  conscientiously  believed  a  serious  injury  would  be  the 
consequence  of  bis  not  using  the  power  given  him  to  change  the  place  of 
depositing  the  pubhc  moneys. 

I  believe  the  conduct  of  the  bank  had  been  such  as  to  justify  the  Secre- 
tary in  the  exercise  of  the  power  given  in  the  bank  charter. 

I  bold  that  although  the  Secretary  had  the  power,  and  the  conduct  of 
the  bank  well  justified  its  exercise,  yet  there  was  another  great  question 
xemaining  to  be  decided,  and  that  was,  the  effect  the  change  of  the  depo- 
sits would  have  upon  society;  and  if  the  Secretary  conscientiously 
beheved  it  wotild  be  injurious,  he  did  right  to  refuse  to  give  an  order  for 
the  removal ;  and  the  willingness  of  the  President  to  take  the  responsi- 
bility would  not  have  excused  him  for  doing  what  he  believed  to  be  wrong. 
But  if  the  President  had  formed  a  different  opinion,  the  Secretary  ought 
to  have  resigned. 

Although  I  think  the  President  possesses  the  power  of  removal  on 
account  of  a  difference  of  opinion  with  an  executive  officer,  yet  I  think  it 
ought  not  to  be  exercised  except  in  a  case  where  the  executive  ofiicer  is 
clearly  wrong. 

The  deposits  having  been  removed,  even  if  it  is  admitted  to  have  been 
impolitic  to  have  done  so,  I  hold  it  would  be  bad  policy  now  to  restore 
■  them,  unless  the  bank  is  to  be  rechartered. 

Against  those  concerned  in  the  direction  of  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States,  I  certainly  have  no  cause  of  personal  dislike,  but  the  contrary. 
Still,  I  fear  any  extension  of  time  to  close  their  concerns  would  be  assidu- 
ously employed  to  procure  d  recharter.  "We  cannot  bind  such  a  corpora- 
tion by  any  regulations  upon  paper,  any  more  than  Samson  could  have 
been  bound  by  a  thread  of  sewing-silk.  An  attentive  examination  of  its 
proceedings  has  satisfied  me  that  such  construction  will  be  put  upon  any 
recharter,  as  will  best  promote  the  interests  of  the  stockholders. 

Your  plan  is,  in  my  judgment,  greatly  preferable  to  any  which  I  have 
heard  suggested,  and  I  do  not  discern  any  objection  to  it,  but  my  strong 
conviction  that  the  time  allowed  for  winding  up  would  be  employed  for 
the  purpose  of  procuring  a  new  charter,  as  exceptionable  as  that  which 
they  now  have.  , 

I  am,  however,  so  much  struck  with  the  power  of  what  you  advance, 
that  I  am  unwilling  to  return  the  project  -unless  you  say  I  must  do  so. 

Although  I  have  no  wish  to  conceal  any  of  my  opinions,  yet  I  have 
such  an  instinctive  dread  of  appearing  in  the  public  prints,  that  I  beg 
you  to  consider  this  letter  for  yourself. 


In  order  to  the  completeness  of  this  view  of  Judge  White's  argu- 
ments upon  the  question  of  the  bank,  are  here  inserted,  sona,e\vhat  in 
advance  ,of  their  proper  succession  in  time,  his  remarks  delivered  in 


UNITED    STATES   BANK.  I47 

the  Senate,  April  20tb,  1838.  The  charter  of  the  bank  had  expired 
in  1836.  It  WHS  allowed  two  years  after  that  time,  in  which  to  wind 
up  Its  concern.  In  1838,  a  bill  was  reported  by  the  judiciary  com- 
mittee, to  prevent  the  re-issuing  of  its  notes.  Judge  White,  with 
consistent  adherence  to  his  republican  sentiments,  opposed  the  bill 
as  asking  an  extravagant  and  unnecessary  exertion  of  power,  in  a  case 
where  there  already  existed  an  adequate  remedy.     He  said  : 

^  Mr.  President:  I  do  not  wish  that  the  reasons  for  tbe  vote  which  I 
mtend  to  give  on  this  bill  should  be  misunderstood,  and  therefore  I  now 
address  you. 

The  evil  to  be  remedied  by  its  passage  is  the  reissuing  the  notes  of  the 
late  Bank  of  the  United  States,  chartered  by  Congress  in  1816.  The  pen- 
alty to  be  inl^icted  is  that  of  fine  and  imprisonment.  I  deny  that  Con- 
gress has  the  power  fo  pa§s  such  a  bill! 

Let  us  examine,  for  a  moment,  the  principles  contended  for  by  its  friends 

1st.  My  honorable  colleague  has  deduced  the  power  from  the  second 
section  of  the  third'  article  of  the  Constitution,  which  savs,  that  the 
courts  of  the  United  States  shall-  have  jurisdiction  in  .all  c;ses  arisino- 
under  the  Constitution  or  laws  of  the  United  States,  &c. 

This  clause  was  never  intended  to  designate  the  cases  in  which  Congre,, 
should  legidate,  but  the  cases  which  the  j udidary  might  decide 

All  cases  in  which  we  legislate,  whether  we  have  the  Constitutional 
power  or  not,  the  judiciary  may  hav^  cognizance  of.  If,  because  the  judi- 
ciary have  this  .jurisdiction  in  all  cases,  Congress  may  also  legislate 
m  all  cases,  there  is  an  end  of  all  limitation  to  the  powers  of  the  federal 
government. 

This  is  a  more  extravagant  claim  of  power  than  I  have  ever  known  to 
be  set  up  by  any  class  of  politicians.  -    ^ 

2d.  His  next  recourse  is  to  that  clause  in  the  Constitution  which  gives 
to  Congress  the  power  "to  coin  money  and  to  regulate  the  value  of  it  "&c 

J^rom  this  gla-use  he  has  argued  that  Congress  has  the  whole  power 
over  the  coin,  and,  if  these  notes  are  permitted  to  circulate,  they  will  put 
out  of  circulation  an  equal  amount  of  coin,  therefore.  Congress  has  ttie 
power  to  legislate  them  out  of  circulation.  I  deny  the  soundness  of  this 
argument. 

It  is  true  Congress  has  the  sole  power-over  the  coi^,  but  it  is  not  true 
that  they  liave,  on  that  account,  absolute  power  over  all  credits,  which  the 
States  or  the  people  may  choose  to  circulate  as  suhstitutes  for  coin  They 
cannot  pass  any  law  which  will  make  it  unlawful  for  one  man  to  circulat'e 
the  promissory  negotiable  note  of  another,  as  a  substitute  for  coin  Nor 
can  they  prohibit  the  circulation  of  notes  issued  by  the  banks  chartered 
by  any  of  the  States. 

The  circulation  of  checks  or  notes  on  State  banks  disp>^ces  the  specie  to 


148  MEMOm    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

tbe  same  amount,  and  if  this  argument  of  my  colleague  were  sound,  this 
whole  circulation  could,  at  any  time,  he  prohibited  by  Congress. 

This  claim  of  power  is,  in  itself,  so  extravagant,  that  few  have  hereto- 
fore ventured  to  assert  it.  In  my  opinion,  it  comes  with  a  bad  grace  from 
those  claiming  to  be  States  right  men,  or  Repubhcans  of  the  Jeffersonian 
school. 

8d.  His  last  resource,  to  establish  this  power,  is  a  recurrence  to  that 
clause  in  the  Constitution  which  gives  Congress  the  power  to  pass  all  laws, 
necessary  and  proper,  to  carry  into  eftect  any  of  the  powers  before  vested 
in  them. 

This  argument  of  my  colleague  carries  us  back,  and  places  us  upon  the 
broad  old  federal  doctrine,  "  that  Congress  may  do  any  thing  which  they 
believe  is  for  the  general  welfare." 

The  republican  doctrine  is,  .that  this  clause  in  the  Constitution,  instead 
of  vesting  in  Congress  any  power  on  any  new  subject,  was  intended  as  a 
limitation  upon  powers  already  granted.  Without  this  clause,  Congi-ess 
would  have  been  compelled,  in  many  cases,  to  take  power  by  implication, 
or  by  construction,  otherwise  they  could  not  attain  many  of  the  objects  over 
which  express  powers  to  legislate  had  been  granted  to  tiiem.  To  cut  oif 
all  pretence  for  assuming  powers  by  implication,  this  clause  was  inserted, 
and  express  power  conferred  to  pass  all  laws  necessary  and  proper  to  give 
effect  to  the  attainment  of  those  objects,  in  relation  to  which  express 
powers  had  been  granted. 

I  cannot  but  think,  that  he  who  now  insists  on  the  reverse,  and  still 
calls  himself  a  Eepublican  of  the  Jeffersonian  school,  mistakes  the  class 
of  politicians  to  which  he  belongs.  Certain  I  am,  he  and  I  do  not  belong 
to  the  same  class,  because  I  will  not  take  fro  a  this  clause  the  power  to 
act  on  any  new  or  independent  subject  whatever.  I  can  only  take  power 
from  it  to  use  the  means  necessary  and  apjpropriate  to  effectuate  some  ob- 
ject,' in  relation  to  which  an  express  power  to  legislate  is  giv6n. 

The  honorable  senator  from  New  Jersey^  -who  addressed  us  yesterday, 
has  had  recourse  to  judicial  determinations,  to  prove  that  Congress  pos- 
sesses the  power  to  pass  this  bill. 

.It  appeared  to  me  that  those  authorities  only  went  to  establish,  that 
where  Congress  has  the  power  .to  create  au  institution,  they  have  the 
power  to  regulate  it  or  destroy  it. 

If  this  doctrine  is  sound,  the  argument  leaves  me  exactly  where  it  found 
me,  because  I  am  one  of  that  unfortunate  class  of  poHticians  who  do  not 
helieve  Congress  had  the  power  to  create  this  coi-poration. 

The  honorable  senator  from  Alabama,  farthest  from  me  ("Mr.  Clay), 
supposes  we  have  the  power  to  pass  this  bill,  because  the  notes  thus  im- 
properly put  in  circulation,  the  IJnited- States  are  morally  bound  to  pay. 

I  deny  that  the  United  States  ever  were,  or  ever  can  be,  either  legally 
or  morally  bound  to  pay  a  single  note  issued  by  that  bank. 


UNITED    STATES   BANK.  149 

The  bank  was  called  by  oar  name,  we  were  stockholders  to  the  amount 
of  seven  millions  of  dollars,  and  we  were  no  farther  bound  "to  the  payment 
of  the  debts  of  that  bank  than  any  individual  owning  the  same  amount 
of  stock,  and  the  very  moment  we  sold  the  stock  we  were  not  interested 
in  the  bank  to  the  amount  of  one  cent. 

The  cases  put  by  the  senator  to  illustrate  his  argument,  prove  that  the 
name  of  this  bank  has  misled  him. 

He  says,  if  a  man  forges  a  note  or  obligation  upon  the  Treasurer  of  the 
United  States,  he  could  be  punished  for  forgery,  &c. 

Suppose  I  yield  that  he  could,  why  would  he  be  thus  punishable  by  au 
act  of  Congress  ?  It  would  be  bfecause  the  Treasurer  is  an  officer  of  the 
United  States,  and  because,  if  the  forged  note  or  obligation  were  genuine, 
the  United  States  must  pay  the  money  out  of  the  Treasury. 

The  persons  this  bill  intends  to  punish,  are  not  our  officers^  our  agents, 
or  our  trustees  ;•  nor  are  the  United  States,  either  legally  or  morally,  bound 
to  pay  one  dollar  to  redeem  these  notes. 

The  notes,  if  re-issued,  are  thus  dealt  with,  by  the  officers,  the  agents, 
or  troistees  of  the  bank,  in  which  we  have  no  interest  whatever,  the 
United  States  having  sold  the  whole  amount  of  their  stock  to  the  bank 
chartered  by  Pennsylvania. 

I  think  if  the  honorable  senator  will  re-consider  the  opinions  he  has  ad- 
vanced, and  give  them  an  application  to  the  facts  as  they  really  exist,  he 
will  be  satisfied  he  is  maintaining  a  doctrine  too  extravagant  to  be  seri- 
ously insisted  on  by  any  one. 

The  argument  of  the  honorable  senator  from  Connecticut  (Mr.  Mies),  is 
by  far  more  plausible  than  anything  I  have  heard. 

It  is  this  in  substance,  that  we  cannot  now  inquire  whether  Congress 
had  the  power  to  charter  this  bank  or  not.  It  was  chartered,  these  notes 
were  made  in  virtue  of  a  po^ver  conferred  by  the  charter,  and  it  is  our 
duty  to  see  that  society  is  not  defrauded  by  means  of  our  creation. 

If  there  were  no  other  means  of  checking  the  mischief  but  by  our  legis- 
lation, the  necessity  of  the  case  would  make  a  man  strain  hard  to  find 
some  source  from  which  he  could  have  power  to  compel  those  who  are 
trustees  to  Cancel  those  notes  as  fast  as  tliey  are  lifted  by  them. 

But  there  is  no  sort  of  necessity  for  our  legislation  to  check  this  mis- 
chief. ' 
How  are  the  facts  ? 

By  the  charter  of  1816,  the  bank  had  twenty  years,  within  which  to  do 
business;  they  expired  on  the  3d  March,  1836.  The  bank  was  to  have 
two  additional  years  within  which  to  wind  up  its  concerns ;  they  expired 
the  3d  March,  1838. 

Before  the  expiration  of  the  twenty  years,  the  State  of  Pennsylvania 
gave  to  the  stockholders,  with  the  exception  of  the  United  States,  a  new 
charter,  and  the  old  stockholders  transferred  to  this  new  bwik  all  their 


150  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

funds  in  trust  to  wind  up  tLeh*  concerns ;  in  other  words,  in  ti-ust  to  col- 
lect all  the  debts  due  to  the  old  bank,  and  to  pay  all  the  debts  it  owed. 

Now  I  am  very  clear  i'n  the  opinion  that  whenever  the  trustee,  with 
the  funds  of  the  old  bank,  lifted  any  of  its  notes,  it  was  a  duty  to  cancel 
them,  and. if,  instead  of  doing  so,  the 'trustee  re-issued  them,'  it  was  a 
breach  of  trust,  and  upon  an  application  to  a  court  of  chancery,  by  any 
one  having  an  interest,  I  have  no  doubt  a  decree  would  be  made  to  re- 
strain the  re-issue,  and  to  compel  the  trustee  to  cancel  the  notes  as  fast  as 
lifted  with  the  trust  funds.  ' 

"Where  then  is  the  necessity  for  Congress  to  exert  the  power  to  check  a 
mischief  for  which  there  is  a  clear,  unembarrassed,  and  adequate  remedy  ? 
There  can  be  none  as  I  thihk.  There  certainly  is  none  to  protect  any  in- 
terest of  the  United  States.  They  never  had  any  interest  in  this^  new  bank^ , 
and  they  have  none  in  the  old,  because  under  an  act  of  Congress  our  seven 
millions  of  stock  were  sold  to  the  new  bank,  receipted  for,  and  as  fast  as. 
the  instaUments  have  fallen  due,  according  to  the  contract,  they  have  been 
punctually  paid. 

There,  therefore,  as  it  seems  to  me,  can  be  no  necessity  or  propriety 
in  deriving  the  power  claimed  from  the  necessity  of  the  case,  and  there  is 
the  more  danger  in  deriving  any  power  from  such  source,  because  every 
honest  mind  is  easily  misled  by  it,  as  the  exercise  of  the  power  is  to  at- 
tain an  object  honest  and  praiseworthy. 

But,  Mr.' President,  are  not  all  those  who  assume  this  ground,  and  think 
we  have  no  power  to  charter  a  bank,  assulninga  most  dangerous  and  de- 
ceptive ground  ?  \ 

I  cannot  but  think  so,  and  with  great  deference  I  say,  it  has- appeared  to 
me,  we  are  likely  to  commit  error  by  not  separating  in  our  minds  things 
which  ought  to  be  kept  distinct. 

The  new  bank  and  the  old  bear  the  same  name.  The  stockholders, 
with  the  exception  of  the  United  States,  are  the  same  in  both  banks. 
The  principal  officers  in  the  old  are  the  prominent  officers  in  the  new. 
Hence  I  have  thought  we  are  inclined  to  view  the  officers  in  this  State 
bank  as  our  officers,  exercising  an  authority  derived  from  the  United 
States,  when  in  truth  and  in  fact  they  derive  their  power  and  authority 
under  a  State  law,  and  ai-e  neither  our  officers,  our  trustees,  nor  our 
agents.  Their  whole  power  and  authority  over  the  aftairs  of  the  old  bank 
are  derived  from  the  contract  between  the  old  and  the  new  banks,  by 
whicli  the  latter  became  the  trustee  of  the  former. 

Is  it  possible  that  Congi-ess  can  derive  any  power  to  legislate  on  this 
point  on  the  ground  of  this  contract? 

Suppose  Pennsylvania  had  never  granted  this  new  charter,  and  the 
stockholders  Oi  the  old  bank  had  niade  just  such  a  contract  with  the  bank 
of  Virginia  iu  virtue  of  which  this  latter  bank  became  the  trustee,  and 
there  was  an  allegation  that  this  trustee  was  re-issuing  some  of  the  notes 


UNITED   STATES   BANK.  151 

instead  of  cancelling  them.  Is  any  gentleman  prepared  to  maintain  that 
Congress  could  pass  a  law  to  send  the  trustee  to  jail,  or  to  have  him 
mulcted  in  a  line  ? 

Upon  principle  there  is  no  distinction  between  the  cases. 

The  claim  of  power  rests  upon  the  ground  that  as  we  inferred  the  power 
to  create  the  hank,  when  in  truth  we  had  no  such  power,  we  may  assume 
any  other  power  we  choose  to  check  our  own  mischief. 

I  deny  this  doctrine  entirely,  and  insist  that  by  our  own  legislation  we 
can  never  enlarge  our  own  powers. 

Here  we  have  created  a  bank.  "Will  any  gentleman  aflSrm  that  an 
express  power  to  charter  a  bank  is  given  in- the  Constitution?  No  gentle- 
rrian  can  so  allege.  Even  those  who  claim  such  a  power  for  Congress 
have  never  pretended  there  is  any  express  grant  of  power.  All  agree  it 
is  a  power  that  must  be  inferred  for  the  sake  of  carrying  out  some  other 
express  grant  of.  power. 

Some  have  said  we  have  express  power  to  lay  and  collect  taxes,  and  a 
bank  is  necessary  as  a  fiscal  agent. 

Others  that  we  have  a  power  to  coin  money,  and,  therefore  Congress 
has  power  over  the  whole  currency,  and  to  keep  that  sound,  a  bank  is  • 
essential. 

"While  those  who  deny  any  such  power  have  denominated  it  '■'■a  vagrant^ 
crawling  over  the  Constitution  in  search  of  a  soft  place  on  which  to  make 
a  comfortable  settlement." 

If  we  pass  this  bill,  in  my  judgment,  we  first  assume,  by  implication, 
that  Congress  had  the  power  to  charter  the  bank,  and  then  we  infer  that 
Congress  can  impose  whatever  pains  and  penalties  it  pleases,  even  unto 
death,  to  compel  the  cancelling  of  the  notes. 

These  powers,  I  think,  we  do  not  possess,  and,  therefore,  I  will 
not  exercise  theih.  I  wiU  adhere  to  what  I  think  the  old  republican 
doctrine : 

1st.  Show  an  express  grant  of  power  to  do  the  principal  matter,  and 
then 

2d.  That  the  means  you  wish  to  employ  are  the  necessary  and  proper 
means  to  be  used,  and  I  am  ready  to  act ;  if  I  doubt,  reasonably,  I  ought 
not  to  act. 

Is  there  any  gentleman  who  hears  me  who  can  say  there  is  no  reasonable 
doubt  in  this  case  ? 

After  all,  if  we  pass  this  bill,  how  is  any  one  to  find  out  what 
notes  were  re-issued  ?      There  will  be  no  mark  put  upon  them. 

"We  can  only  believe  some  have  been  re-issued,  because  we  see,  at 
an  after  day,  more  are  in  circulation  tlian  there  were  on  a  former 
one :  but  what  identical  notes  they  were,  society  can  have  no  means  of 
knowing. 

I  now  have  one  or  two  in  my  pocket,  but  I  have  no  knowledge  wheu 


152  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

or  Itow  they  were  put  in  circulation,  nor  had  I  any  means  of  ascertaining. 
All  I  know  is  that  they  came  to  my  hands  fairly. 

Other  gentlemen,  who  condemn  my  rule  of  construing  the  Constitu- 
tion, may  find  a  satisfactory  source  from  which  to  derive  their  power  to 
pass  this  bill ;  if  so,  let  them  pass  it.  All  I  wish,  is,  that  the  principles 
on  which  I  act  may  be  understood. 


CHAPTER    X.      ■ 

SENATORIAL       CAREER INDIAN      TRIBES — EXECUTIVE      PATRONAGE- 
EXPUNGING    RESOLUTIONS. 


The  condition  of  the  Indian  tribes  was  the  principal  subject  wbicb 
attracted  Judsre  White's  attention,  and  commanded  his  most  earnest 
efforts.  The  history  of  this  race  has  been  one  of  curious  and  stirring 
interest  to  every  reflecting  mind,  and  must  awaken  sympathy  in  every 
feeling  heart.  Comparatively  few  years  have  passed,  since  they  were 
sole  masters  of  this  glorious  land,  erecting  their  wigwams  at  pleasure, 
and  ranging  free  and  untrammelled  throughout  their  vast  hunting- 
groun.ds.  By  a  rapid  and  singular,  but  sure  process,  those  tribes 
which  had  occupied  our  extreme  Northern  territory  were  nearly 
wasted  away,  or  quite  exterminated,  by  the  white  man,  in  his  lust  for 
gain.  Nor  was  the  work  to  stop  here.  The  same  influences  were 
beginning  to  be  felt  by  our  Southern  and  Western  tribes.  The  heart 
of  every  philanthropist  recoiled  from  the  view  of  the  future  prospects 
of  this  miserable  race  ;  and  a  desire  to  preserve  and  elevate  them 
gave  rise  at  an  early  day  to  the  benevolent  design  of  colonizing 
them  in  the  vast  territory  west  of  the  Mississippi.  The  scheme  was 
originated  by  that  profound  and  organizing  statesman,  Thomas 
Jefferson,  and  had  been  pursued  or  attempted  without  much  success 
by  subsequent  administrations.  It  was  anew  submitted  to  Congress 
in  the  session  of  1829-30,  and  after  a  most  laborious  examination 
and  discussion  was  sanctioned  by  that  body.  Judge  White  was  at 
that  time  chairman  of  the  committee  on  Indian  Affairs.  Although  he 
had  in  early  life  been  engaged  in  warfare  against  tb em,  and  although 
he  had  looked  with  horror  upon  the  scenes  of  their  savage  barbarity, 
he  could  not  calmly  witness  their  extinction. 

His  feelinos  were  all  enlisted  in  the  measures  for  ameliorating  their 
condition.  His  plans  contemplated  not  merely  their  preservation 
from  the  utter  annihilation  which  so  evidently  menaced  them,  but  their 


154  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

insti"uction  in  the  arts  of  civilization,  and  the  communication  to  them 
of  the  saving  influences  of  Christianity.  When  the  bill  providing 
for  their  colonization  vpas  brought  before  the  Senate,  though  over- 
borne by  heavy  domestic  atHiction,  with  his  characteristic  devotion  to 
the  interest^  of  others,  he  rose  superior  to  his  private  griefs,  aroused 
all  his  energies,  and  poured  forth  his  soul  in  a  fervid  j)lea  for  the 
appropriation  to  them  of  a  permanent  home.  The  measure  was  car- 
ried by  that  powerful  effort,  and  probably  no  act  of  his  life  ever  gave 
him'more  pleasure.  His  interest  in  the  Indian  was  deep  and  abiding. 
Its  fer^'or  was  undiminished  to  the  last  hour  of  his  life.  "  Almost  in 
my  last  interview  with  him,"  says  the  Rev.  Dr.  Foot,  "he  spoke  with 
inimitable  tenderness  of  their  having  been  rescued  from  gradual 
extinction — of  their  prospect  in  the  colony — of  his  expectation  that 
civilization  and  Christianity  would  now  prevail  amongst  them,  and  as 
he  described  the  elevation  to  which  he  believed  them  destined  to 
arrive,  the  ttars  fell  from  his  eyes,  and  his  whole  countenance  told 
his  delight  in  anticipating  their  prosperity." 

Feb.  22,  1830,  Judge  White,  as  chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Indian  Affairs,  made  a  report  upon  the  business  in  their  charge, 
which  we  insert,  as -follows: 

Everything  which  relates  to  those  Indian  tribes  or  nations  with  which 
we  have  political  relations,  created  or  regulated  by  treaties,  is  becoming, 
every  year,  more  and  more  interesting ;  especially  those  relating  to  such 
as  reside  within  any  of  the  States  of  the  Union,  or  of  the  territories 
belonging  to  it.  The  matters  communicated  by  the  President,  in  his 
message,  relative  to  the  Cherokees,  are  of  the  most  delicate  and  interest- 
ing character,  whether  considered  in  relation  to  the  United  States,  to  the 
States  of  Georgia  and  Alabama,  or  to  the  Cherokee  nation.  The  com- 
mittee have  employed  themselves  assiduously  in  their  investigation,  with 
an  anxious  wish  to  avail  themselves  of  .all  the  information  within  their 
reach,  and  desirous  to  recommend  something  to '  the  Senate,  which,  If 
productive  of  no  positive  good,  will  at  least  have  the  merit  of  not  farthen 
embarrassing  questions  already  sufficiently  complicated. 

With  this  nation,  .the  United  States  have  formed  a  number  of  treaties, 
commencing  as  early  as  the  year  1785,  and  ending  in  the  year  1819.  At 
the  formation  of  the  first,  the  Indians  occupied  portions  of  territory 
within  the  chartered  limits  of  the  States  of  Xorth  Carolina,  South  Caro- 
lina, and  Georgia.  Since  that  period,  North  Carolina  ceded  a  part  of 
her  territory,  on  Avhich  a  portion  of  these  Indians  resided,  to  the  Urnted 
States ;  and  that  territory,  according  to  the  terms  of  the  deed  of  cession, 
has  been  since  formed  into  the  State  of  Tennessee.     South  Carohua  and 


RKPOKT    ON     INDIAN     AFFAIKS.  155 

Georgia  .nniicably  settled  tire  boundaiy  between  them;  and  by  an  agree- 
ment between  the  United  S^iites  and  Georgia,  dated  in  tlie  year  1802,  the 
United  States  acquired  the  title  to  a  portion  of  territory,  ont  of  which 
the  State  of  Alabama,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  State  of  Mississippi, 
have  been  since  formed.  And  now,  it  so  happens,  that  a  part  of  the 
Oherokees  still  reside  within  the  States  of  North  Carolina  and  Georgia, 
according  to  their  present  boundaries,  as  well  as  within  the  limits  of  Ten- 
nessee and  of  Alabama.  Latterly,  Georgia,  in  the  exercise,  as  slie  sup- 
poses',  of  her  sovereign  powers,  has  extended  her  laws  over 'the  whole 
of  the  State,  and  subjected  the  Indians  to  her  jurisdiction.  Meantime, 
the  Cherokees  have  formed  a  civil  government  of  their  own,  entirely 
independent  of  any  State,'  claiming  to  have  a  right  to  do  so  in  virtue  of 
their  original  title  to  the  lands  on  which  they  reside,  and  relying,  Irke- 
wise,  upon  the  guarantee  of  their  country,  in  several  of  their  treaties 
formed  with  the  United  States.  They  have  called  upon  the  executive  to 
make  good  this  guarantee,  by  preventing  the  operation  of  the  laws  of 
either  Georgia  Qr  Alabama,  within  those  limits  secured  to  them  by  the 
said  treaties.  To  this  application,  the  President  has  replied,  that  he  has 
no  power  to  check  the  operation  of  the  laws  of  those  States,  within  their 
respective  limits;  that  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  forbids  the 
formation  of  any  new  State  within  the  limits  of  an  old  one,  without  its 
consent;  therefore,  the  Cherokees  cannot  be  recognized  as  a  separate 
State,"  within  those  limits  where  they  now  reside ;  and  that,  if  they 
choose  to  remain  there^  tliey  shall  be  protected  in  doing  so,  but  that  they 
must  submit  to  the  laws  of  the  respective  States,  at  the  same  time  they 
are  protected  by  them,  and  earnestly  recdmmfends  to  them  to  consent  to 
exclutnge  the  territory  where  they  now  reside,  for  one  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, owned  by  the  United  States,  and  not  yet  included  within  the 
bounds  of  any  State  or  territory,  where  they  can ,  be  again  united  with 
that  portion  of  their  nation  which  bias  already  emigrated,  and  where  the 
United  States  can,  and  will,  make  thfem  forever  secure  from  any  interrup- 
tion from  the  whites,  or  from  any  other  nation  or  people  whatever. 

To  this  proposition  the  Indians  have  given  an  absolute  refusal,  still 
insisting  on  a  fulfillment  of. their  treaty  stipulations. 

The  laws  of'  Georgia  will  commence  their  operation  in  the  month  of 
June  next.  It  is  easy  to  foresee  the  painful  consequences  which  will  pro- 
bably follow,  frOm  laws  operating  over  the  same  territory,  at  one  and 
the  same  time,  and  flowing  from  jurisdictions  or  sovereigns,  independent 
of  each  other. 

The  evil  will  not  stop  here ;  already  we  are  advised  that  Mississippi 
has  p.issed  a  law,  incorporating  lier  Indian  population  with  her  citizens; 
tlitit  Alabama  has  extended  her  laws  over  the  Creek  Indians  within  her 
limits';  and,  before  long,  we  may  anticipate  that  the  like  policy  will  be 
pursued  by  several  other  States. 


150  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

From  the  information  before  the  committee,  no  hope  need  be  enter- 
tained that  either  of  these  States  will  change  their  policy,  and  repeal 
those  laws ;  a  period  has  arrived  when  the  United  States  have  a  duty  to 
perform,  which  must  be  discharged,  in  good  faitJi^  to  the  States  con- 
cerned, to  the  Indians,  and  with  a  sacred  regard  to  their  own  high 
character. 

In  the  view  which  the  committee  have  of  this  subject,  they  beljieve  it 
would  be  unnecessary,  if  not  improper,  for  them  to  ofter  any  opinion 
upon  the  points  in  dispute  between  the  contending  parties,  bec^.use  there 
can  be  no  reason  lo  suppose  any  additional  enactments  by  Congress  are 
necessary  to  put  it  in  the  power  of  the  executive  to  make  good  the 
guaranties  contained  in  the  treaties,  if,  in  his  judgment,  they  ought  to 
have  the  construction  for  which  the  Oherokees  insist,  and  his  duty, 
according  to  the  constitutioti,  would  authorize  him  to  oppose  the  opera- 
tion of  the  State  laws. 

In  1802,  Congress  passed  an  act  to  regulate  trade  and  intercourse  with 
the  Indians,  the  provisions  of  which,  connected  with  the  treaties,  are 
sufficiently  broa,d  to  authorize  the  executive  to  give  eftect  to  every  stipu-- 
lation,  which  it  is  the  duty  of  the  United  States  to  perform. 

The  failure  to  comply  with  the  wishes  of  the  Cherokees,  as  it  appears 
to  the  committee,  proceeded  not  from  a  defect  in  the  law,  but  because  in 
the  opinion  of  the  executive,  constitutional  objections  exist,  which  it  is 
not  in  the  power  of  Congress  to  remove,  by  any  law  which  they  could 
enact. 

The  difficulties  which  have  actually  occurred,  were  foreseen  some  years 
since,  and  successive  Administrations  seem  to  have  been  anxiously  endea- 
voring to  avoid  them ;  and  the  only  remedy  suggested  by  any,  appears 
to  have  been,  to  provide  a  country  west  of  the  Mississippi,  beyond  the 
limits  of  any  State  or  organized  territory ;  to  have  it  laid  otf  and  divided 
into  as  many  districts  as  would  accommodate  all  the  Indians  residing 
within  any  of  the  States  or  territories;  to  have  those  districts  so 
described,  by  natural  or  artificial  marks,  that  each  could  be  known  frona 
every  other;  and  then,  by  fair  and  peaceable  means,  to  induce  the 
Indians  to  exchange  the  lands'  wherb  they  live,  for  some  of  those  thus 
described,  and  to  emigrate.  Suitable  country,  as  is  believed,  Jias  been 
procured,  but,  owing  to  some  cause  or  ^other,  the  districts  have  not,  as 
'  yet,  been  laid  off,  and  properly  described.  Exchanges,  however,  to  a  con- 
siderable extent,  have  been  made,  and,  consequent  emigrations  from  vari- 
ous tribes  have  taken  place.  A'  portion  of  the  Cherokees,  equal,  as  is 
believed,  to  from  one  third  to  one  half  of  the  whole,  has  actually  removed 
to,  and  settled  in,  a  country  well  suited  to  their  wants  and  wishes,  Avest 
of  the  Mississippi.  There  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  many  more 
would  have  removed  before  this  time,  except  for  various  causes,  which, 
as  yet,  the  United  States  have  not  been  able  to  overcome.     The  principal 


REPORT    ON    INDIAN    AFFAIRS.  157 

one  is,  the  idea  of  a  separate  arid  independent  State  of  their  own,  -wliere 
they  now  live.  This  is  the  work,  principally,  of  comparatively  a  few, 
who  ai*e  either  white  men  connected  with  the  nations  hy  marriaye,  or  of 
those  of  mixed  blood,  born  in  the  nation,  who  are  well  educated  and 
intelligent,  who  have  acquired  considerable  property,  and,  through  the 
annuities  paid  by  the  United  States,  and  by  other  means,  are  yearly  add- 
ing to  it.  This  class  of  people,  it  is  believed,  do  not  altogether  equal  one 
hundred  in  nurpber,  A  very  small  portion  of  full-blooded  Indians  can  be 
named,  who  are  in  the  like  circumstances,  or  who  have  inuch  agency  in 
their  public  affiiirs. 

Those  who  are  in  public  employ  have  an  influence  almost  unbounded 
over  the  nation.  They  fill  all  the  offices  created  by  their  laws,  and  have 
the  entire  management  of  the  funds  derived  from  every  source.  The  rest 
of  the  nation  may  be  divided  into  two  classes.  The  one,  owning  some 
small  property,  and  having  settlements  of  their  own,  upon  which  they 
make  a  sufficiency  to  support  themselves  and  their  families,  and  but  little 
surplus.  Those  of  the  other,  comprehending,  as  is  believed,  the  mass  of 
the  population,  are  as  poor  and  degraded  as  can  well  be  imagined.  They 
may  be  said  to  live  without  hope  of  better  circumstances ;  they  have 
almost  no  property,  and  seem  destitute  of  the  means  or  prospect  of  acquir- 
ing any.  There  is  very  little  game  in  their  country.  They  are  Avithout 
industry,  without  information,  unlettered,  and  subsisting  chiefly  upon  what 
they  can  beg,  and  upon  the  birds  and  fish  they  can  procure.  A  stranger 
who  travels  along  a  leading  road  through  the  nation,  or  makes  but  a  short 
stay  in  it,  will  form  a  very  erroneous  opinion  of  the  condition  of  the'great 
mass  of  the  population.  He  has-  intercourse  only  with  those  of  the  first 
or  second  class  before  mentioned,  and  forms  his  opinions  of  all,  from  the 
condition  of  those  with  whom  he  associates.  It  may  then  be  asked,  why 
do  these  people  refuse  to  emigrate?  The  answer  is,  those  who  have 
influence  over  them  use  every  means  in  their  power  to  prevent  them. 
They  misrepresent  the  country  ofiered,  west  of  the  Mississippi.  They 
use  persuasion  while  it  answers  the  purpose,  and  threats,  when  per- 
suasion is  likely  to  fail.  The  committee  are  well  satisfied,  that  every 
humane  and  benevolent  individual,  who  is  anxious  for  the  Tvelfare  of  the 
great  body  of  the  Cherokees,  and  is  correctly  informed  of  their  true  con- 
dition^ must  feel  desirous  for  their  removal,  provided  it  can  be  effected 
with  their  consent. 

Other  strong  inducements  for  this  desire,  must  be  found  in  the  condi- 
tion to  which  they  are  now  brought,  by  the  collision  between  them  and 
the  laws  of  the  States  in  which  they  reside. 

Although  the  committee,  for  the  reasons  before  given,  consider  it 
unnecessary,  if  not  improper,  in  them,  to  offer  any  opinion  upon  the  vali- 
dity of  the  conflicting  claims  of  the  parties ;  j'et,  it  may  not  be  without 
its  use  to  call  the  attention  of  the  Senate  to  some  of  the  leading  facts,  and 


158  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

maia  points,  upon  •which  the  controversy  ha^  depended,  and  must  here- 
after depend. 

The  title  of  the  Cherokees  must  rest  upon  their  original  right  of  occu- 
pancy, and  upon  the  treaties  formed  wdth  the  United  States. 

As  to  the  lirst,  "  their  title  by  occupancy,"  the  answer  would  be,  when 
the  country  was  discovered,  they  were  savages ;  and  that  this  discovery, 
of  itself,  gave  a  right  to  form  settlements,  and  to  exclude  all  other  civil- 
ized nations.  That  is  conferred  upon  the  nation  of  the  discovei-er  and 
settler,  the  right  to  acquire  the  usufritctuary  interest  which  the  natives 
had.  It  would  be  added,  that,  at  a  very  early  period,  the  Cherokees 
formed  a  ti'taty  with  Great  Britain,  by  which  they  gave  up  ^heir  inde- 
pendence, and  put  themselves  under  the  protection  of  his  Britannic 
Majesty.  That  tliey  took  a  part  with  the  British  Crown  in  the  war  of 
the  Revolution.  TI>at  the  American  arms  were  employed  against  them, 
and  they  conquered,  when  Independence  %vas  acknowledged,  and  the 
treaty  of  peace  made  with  Great  Britain.  Tliat  this  conquest  conferred 
upon  the  respective  States,  Avithin  whose  limits  they  were,  all  the  rights, 
and  gave  them  all  the  powers  which  the  Crown  had,  2^'>'ior  to  the  Revo- 
lution. That  this  right  still  continued  in  the  States,  and  never  was 
yielded  to  the  United  States.  That,  in  securing  these  rights,  they  seve- 
rally exercised -these  powers,  from  the  year  1776  up  to  the  year  ^785,  in 
such  manner,  as,  in  their  sovereign  will,  they  believed  to  be  wise  and 
just,  without  any  control  from  the  United  States. 

That,  although,  in  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  there  is  a  power  given 
to  the  United  States  to  make  treaties  with  Indians  residing  out  of  their 
limits,  yet  there  is,  in  the  ninth  article,  ah  express  saving  to  each  State, 
of  all  its  legislative  rights,  within  its  chartered  limits. 

As  to  the  second  point,  the  political  condition  of  the  Indians,  a^  estab- 
lished by  treaties  between  them  and  the  United  States.  The  fii'st,  aaid 
only  treaty  with  the  Cherokees,  during  the  Articles  of  Confederation, 
was  concluded  in  I^ovember,  1785. 

By  that  treaty,  a  boundary  is  established,  which  allots  tq  the^  Indians 
a  great  extent  of  country,  within  the- acknowledged  limits  of  both  North 
Carolina  and  Georgia,  and  over  which  those  States  had  actually  legis- 
Ifited ;  had  previously  authorized  by  law  the  sales  of  land  tlievein ;  a  con- 
siderable quantity  had  in  fact  been  sold  to  individuals,  and  the  consider- 
ation money  paid  to  the  State. 

Against  this'  treaty  both  Georgia  and  North  Carolina  entered  their 
solemn  protests,  it  being,  as  they  alleged,  in  violation  of  their  legislative 
rights. 

Not  very  long  after  this  treaty,  the  Cherokees  waged  a  war  against  the 
citi-zens  of  those  States,  which  continued  until  some  short  time  prior  to 
the  treaty  of  Ilolston,  concluded  in  the  j-ear  1701. 

This  was  the  first  treaty  made  with  those  Indians  under  the  authority 


REPORT    ON    INDIAN    AFFAIRS.  159 

of  the  present  Constitution  of  the  United  Stcates,  and  by  it  a  new  boun- 
dary is  agreed  upon,  by  whicli  the  limits  before  allotted  to  the  Indians 
are  reduced  to  a  smaller  compass. 

By  the  seventh  article,  "  the  United  States  solemnly  guarantee  to  the 
CheroTcee  nation  all  their  lands  not  hereby  cededy 

On  the  seventh  day  of  February,  1792,  an  additional  article  to  this 
last-mentioned  treaty  is  agreed  upon,  by  which  an  addition  of  five  hun- 
dred dollars  is  made  to  the  annuity  stipulated  in  the  former  treaty. 

In  June,  1794,  another  treaty  is  made  between  the  parties,  by  which 
the  provisions  of  the  treaty  of  1791  are  revived,  an  addition  made  to 
tiieir  annuity,  and  provision  for  running  and  marking  the  boundary  line. 

In  October,  1798,  an  additional  treaty  is  concluded,  by  which  former 
treaties  are  rericed^  the  boundary  of  Indian  lands  curtailed  by  another 
cession  to  the  United  States,  for  an  additional  compensation. 

In  October,  1804,  another  treaty  i^  concluded,  by  which'  more  land  is 
ceded  by  the  Indians,  for  a  consideration  agreed  upon  and  specified  in 
the  treaty. 

In  October,  1805,  two  treaties  are  made,  by  which  the  Indians  cede  an 
additional  quantity  of  land. 

On  the  seventh  day  of  January,  180G,  another  treaty  is  Concluded,  in 
which  more  land  is  ceded  to  the  United  States ;  and  in  September,  1807, 
an  ex^idanation  is  agreed  upon  of  the  boundary  line  intended  in  the  treaty 
last  mentioned.  *  • 

On  thp  twenty-second  day  of  March,  1816,  another  treaty  is  concluded, 
by  which  the  Indians  relinquish  their  title  to  lands  in  South  CaVolina, 
for  whioli  the  United  States  engage  South  Carolina  will  make  payment; 
and  on  the  same  day  anotlier  treaty  is  made,  in  which  the  Indians  relin- 
quish to  the  United  States  their  claim  to  more  Jands,  and  agree  to  allow 
the  use  of  the  water  courses  in  their  remaining  counti-y,  and  also  to  per- 
mit roads  to  be  made  through  the  same. 

On  the  fourteenth  of  September,  1816,  another  treaty  is  made,  by 
which  an  additional  quantity  of  land  is  ceded  to  the  United  States. 

On  the  eighth  day  of  July,  1817,  another  treaty  is  concluded,  by 
which  an  exchange  of  lands  is  agreed  on,  and  a,  plan  for  dividing  .tiie 
Cherokees  settled :  one  part  to  remain  east  of  the  Mississippi ;  another 
to  emigrate  west  of  the  Mississippi,  to  a  country  designated^ in  the 
treaty ;  and  those  who  might  happen  to  fall  within  the  territory  ceded, 
to  have  an  election  to  become  citizens  of  the  United  States^  and  each  head 
of  an  Indian  family  to  have  a  reservation  of  six  hundred  and  forty  acres 
of  land,  to  include  his  improvements. 

And  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  February,  1819,  another  treaty  is  con- 
cluded, intended  to  be  in  execution  of  the  stipulations  -contained  in  that 
of  1817,  in  several  particulars,  and  in  which  an  additional  tract  of  coun- 
try is  ceded  to  the  United  States. 


160  MEMOIK    OF    HUGn    LAWSON    WHITE. 

These,  as  the  committee  believe,  are  all  the  treaties  between  the 
United  States  and  the  Cherokee  nation  on  the  east  side  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  within  the  limits  of  any  of  the  United  States. 

In  several  of  them  there  are  stipulations  for  roads,  the  navigation  of 
rivers,  and  the  estallishinent  of  ferries,  within  the  hounds  reserved  hy  the 
Cherolcees  to  themselves,  and  guaranteed  to  them  by  the  United  States. 

In  virtue  of  these  treaties,  the  Cherokees  contend  they  have  a  valid 
and  complete  title  to  the  lands  of  which  they  are  in  possession;  and 
that  they  have  a  right  to  establish  such  government,  as,  in  their  own 
opinion,  is  best  suited  to  their  condition ;  and  that  such  government  is 
independent  of  any  of  the  States  within  the,  limits  of  which  any  portiohs 
of  their  territory  may  happen  to  be ;  and  that  the  United  States  stand 
solemnly  fledged  to  protect  them  in  i\\Q  peaceaMe  enjoyment  of  it,  against 
all  the  world. 

On  the  other  side,  the  States  may  admit,  that,  if  the  j^olitical  condition 
of  the  Cherokees  was  to  be  considered,  as  it  related  to  the  rights  and 
powers  of  the  United  States  only,  then  it  is  true  they  are,  and  ought  to 
be,  a  community  sovereign,  in  all  respects — those  only  excepted  in  which 
they  had  by  the  treaties  expressly  surrendered  their  independence ;  and 
still  contend  that  Georgia  was  a  sovereign  and  independent  State,  from 
the  fourth  day  of  July,  1776,  a  period  anterior  to  the  Union  of  the  States, 
under  either  the  Articles  of-  Confederation,  or  of  the  present  Constitu- 
tion. That,  as  a  sovereign  State,  she  had  a  right  to  govern  every  human 
being  within  her  limits,  according  to  her  own  will,  and  to  dispose  of  all 
the  vacant  lands,  when,  to  whom,  and  for  what  consideration,  she 
pleased.  That  she  is  still  in  the  possession  of  aR  those  rights  and 
powers,  excepting  only  such  as  she  has  expressly. surrendered.  That  she 
never  has  surrendered  to  the  United  States,  either  by  a  treaty,  or  by  any 
other  means,  the  poAver  to  dispose -of  her  vacant  territory,  or  to  author- 
ize the  establishment  of  a  gbverhment  within  her  limits,  without  her 
consent.  So  far  from  it,  that  the  ninth  article  of  the  Confederation  for- 
bids any  violation  of  her  legislative  rights,  and  expressly  provides  that 
no  State  shall  be  deprived  of  territory  for  the  benefit  of  the  United 
States ;  and  that  the  third  section  of  the  fourth  article  of  the  Constitu- 
tion expressly  says':  No  new  State  shall  be  formed  within  the  limits  of 
one  or  more  of  the  old,  without  their  consent.  And  the  tenth  amend- 
ment of  the  Constitution  declares,  that  even  "  private  property  shall  not 
be  taken  for  public  use,  without  making  just  compensation."  That,  if 
private  property  cannot- be  taken  without  comjiensation,  the  conclusion  is 
very  strong,  that  it  was  not  intended  to  give  a  power  to  take  the 
property  which  belonged  to  a  sovereign  State,  under  any  circumstances 
whatever.  That  she  never  did  give  her  consent  to  this  disposition  of 
either  her  jurisdiction  or  tff  her  territory ;  so  far  from  it,  she  entered  her 
solemn  protest  against  i\\Q  first  treaty  formed  in  the  year  1785,  as  viola- 


EEPOKT     ON    INDIAN    AFFAIRS.  IGl 

tive  of  her  rights,  and  that  na  inference  can  be  (lra^vn,  to  her  disadvan- 
tage, from  her  silence,  or  from  anythhig  slie  may  have  said  in  relation 
to  any  subsequent  treaty ;  because  in  each  of  them  a  change  was  made, 
by  which  a  portion  of  her  territory  and  jurisdiction  was  restored  to  her, 
and  tlins  her  co^ylition  rendered  better  than  if  was  under  the  treaty  of 
1785,  against  wliich  she  had  protested. 

She  may  further  insist,  that  the  second  section  of  the  second  article  ot 
the  Constitution,  which  gives  to  the  President,  with  the  advice  and  con- 
sent of  two-thirds  of  tli«  Senate,  power  'to  make  treaties,  has  no  appUca- 
tion  to  Indiaiis  AVitliin  the  ehartered  limits  of  any  of  the  States;  nor  the 
eiglith  section  of  the  first  article,  which  gives  Congress  power  to  ref^ulate 
commerce  with  the  Indian  tribes.     That  if  Indians  can  be  treated  with, 
it  must  be  those  only  who  reside  otit  of  the  limits  of  the  States,  and 
those  with  whom  coihmerce  may  be  regulated  must  be  similarly  situ- 
ated ;  otherwise,  that  part  of  the  second  section  of  the  first  article,  which 
forbids  the  enumeration  of  Indians  residing  within  the  States,  and  "not 
taxed,"  will  be  without  any  appropriate  meaning.     That  although  the 
United -States  may  have  contracted  i95%«iJ«(j?M  with  the  Cherokee  nation. 
yet  they  huA previously  contracted  those  equally  i\s  soIemn\yii\i  each  of 
the  States.     That  in  the  fourth  section  of  the  fourth  ai-ticle  of  the  Con- 
stitution,  the  following  pledge  is  given:    "The   United  States   shall 
solemnly  yjnarantee  to~ evevy .  State' in  this  Union  a  republican  form  of 
Government,  and  shall  protect  each  of  them  against  invasion,  and,  on 
application  of  the  Legislature,  or  of  the  Executive  (when  the  Legislature 
cannot  be  convened),  against  domeMic  violence.'''' 

She  may  ask,  how  can  Georgia  have  a  "  republican  form  of  govern- 
ment," co-extensive  with  her  limits,  unless  a  majority:  of  her  citizens  are 
pel-mitted  to  prescribe  rules,  to  which  all  mnst  conform  ?  How  will  the 
United  States  have  made  good  the  "guarantee  against  domestic  violence,'''' 
if  they  permit  a  portion  of  the  population  within  her  limits  to  establish 
a  government,  contrary  to  her  will,  with  authority^  to  prescribe  rules 
inconsistent  with  those  prescribed  by  herself?  She  may  add,  that  it  was 
in  the  confidence  that  this  "  solemn  guarantee  "  would  be  sacredly  kept, 
that  she  consented  to  give  up  any  portion  of  her  sovereignty,  sfnd  become 
a  member  of  the  Union. 

In  addition,  she  may  urge,  that  in  1802,  upwards  of  twenty-seven 
years  ago,  she  made  a  contract  with  the  United  States,  by  which  they 
became  bound  to  purchase  any  claim  which  the  Cherokee  nation,  or  any 
other,  might  set  up  to  lands  within  her  hmjts,  as  soon  as  such  purchase 
could  be  made  upon  reasonable  terms.  That,  for  this  stipulation,  she 
paid  at  the  time  a  valuable  consideration,  in  lands  which  she  conveyed. 
That,  after  waiting' thus  long,  and  seeing  for  several  years  past,  the  pros- 
pect of  a  compliance  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  decreasing,  she  had 
detei'mined  to  exer{  her  own  sovereign  powers,  over  her  whole  territory, 

11 


162  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    -WmXE. 

in  snch  manner  as  she  believes  ■wiU.  be  just  to  hpr  •whole  population. 
That  the  object  of  this  agreement  was  to  obtain  a  benefit  for  herself, 
within  her  reserved  limits,  and  that,  if  she  should  fail  to  receive  the 
benefit  she  expected,  she  will  take  care  not  to  suffer  her  condition  to  be ' 
made  worse.  ' 

That  she  is  yet  sovereign,  within  her  own  limits,  to  every  extent  she 
was  when  she  became  a  ixiember  of  the .  Union,  except  so  far  as  she 
expressly  surrendered  her  sovereignty  by  the  terms  of  the  Constitution. 
That,  although  she  is  determined  to  use  her  pqwer  within  her  limits,  yet 
she  owes  it  to  her  own  character  so  to  exert  it  as  most  to  promote  the 
happiness  of  every  rational  being  who  may  remain  subject  to  her  control, 
no  matter  what  may  be  his  color,  or  in  what  language  he  may  make 
known  his  wants;  • '  ■  ■•       » 

Alabama  and  Mississippi  tnay  say  they  were  a  part  of  the  State  of 
Georgia,  up  to  the  time  of  the  compact  and  cession,  in  1802,  and  that 
they  have  been  erected  upon  parts  of  the  territory  then  ceded  to  the 
United  States;  and  that,  with  the, exception  of  the  difference,  produced 
by  not  owning  the  soil  within  their  limits,  they  are  entitled  to  the 
benefit  of  every  argument  which  Georgia  could  urge  in  this  controversy. 

Should  these  arguments,  or  any  others,  in  favor  of  the  States,  have  the 
effect  of  proving  that  th6  United  States  have  not  the  power  to  comply 
with  the  stipulations  contained  in  theil*  treaties  with,  the  Oherokees,  on 
account  of  prior  and  superior  obligations  which  they  had  contracted,  it 
could  not,  in  the  opinion  of  the  committee,  take  anything  from  that  cha- 
racter for  integrity  and-  good  faith,  to  which  they  are  so  justly  entitled. 
None  could  suspect  that  the  -obligation  was  conti'acted  with  a  design  to 
mislead  or  to  deceive;  and  -jvhile  the  United  States  are  both  able  and 
willing  to  make  a  full  and  adequate  compensation  for  all  that  may  be  lost 
for  want  of  a  specific  performance  of  their  agreement,  their  faith  is  pre- 
served as  inviolate  as  it  would  be  if  all  their  stipulations  were  specifically 
complied  with.  Should  the  Indians  continue  determined  to  reside  where 
they  now  are,  and  become  subject  to  the  laws  of  the  respective  States  in 
which  they  reside,  no  difiioulty  can  occur,  as  your  committee  see  no 
reason  to  apprehend  that  either  of  the  States  have  it  in  contemplation  to 
force  them  to  abandon  the  country  in  which  they  dwell ;  but,  if  they 
determine  to  remain^  and, continue  to  insist  on  a  separate  and  indepen- 
dent government,  and  refuse  obedience  to  the  laws  of  the  States,  the 
consequences  which  must  inevitably  ensue,  are  such  as  the  humane  and 
benevolent  cannot  reflect  upon  without  feelings  of  the  deepest  sorrow 
and  distress. 

If,  on  the  contrary,  they  should  consent  to  exchange  their  present 
places  of  residence  for  a  country  west  of  the  Mississippi,  it  is  in  the 
power  of  the  United  States  to  furnish  one  suited,  as  tlie  committee 
believe,  to  their  wants  and  condition,  where  they  can  be  secured  against 


EKPORT    ON     INDIAN     AFFAIRS.  103 

^e  intrusion  of  any  other  people ;  where,  under  tlie  protection  of  the 
Uuitetl  States,  and  with  their  aid^  they  caii  pursue  their  j)lan  of  civiliza- 
tion, and,  ere  long,  be  in  the  peaceable  enjoyment  of  a  civil  government 
of  their  own  choice,  and  where  Christian  and  pliilanthropist  can  have 
ample  scope  for  their  labors  of  love  and  benevolence. 

Your  committee  are  of  opinion,  tliat  ample  means  should  be  placed,  by 
Congress,  in  the  power  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  to  authorize 
and  enable  him  to  have  the  country  west  of  the  Mississippi,  o'ut  of  the 
limits  of  all  the  States,  laid  oiF  into  as  many  districts  as  may  be  deemfed 
necessary  for  the  residence  of  the  Indians,  now  within  -the  respective 
States,  with  which  the  United  States  have  treaties;  to  have  those 
districts  accurately  descril>ed ;  •  and  also,  to  make  exchanges  and  pur- 
chases with  such  tribes,  or  parts  of  them,  as  may  choose  to  remove  ;  to 
give  aid  in  the  removal,  and  to  contribute,  fQi-  a  season,  to  their  support, 
at  their  new  places  of  residence.  For  which  purposes,  the  committee  ask 
leave  to  report  a  bill. 

A  BILL  .         t    -       . 

To  provide  for  an  exchange  of  lands  with  the  Indians  residing  in  any  of 
the  States  or  Territories^  and  for  their  removal  west  of  the  river  Missis- 
sippi. 

Be  it  enacted  T)y  the  Senate  and  House  cf  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful 
for  the  President  of  the  United  States,  to  cause  so  much  df  any  territory 
belonging  to  the  United  States,  west  of  the  river  Mississippi,  not  included 
in  any  State,  and  to  which  the  Indian  title  has  been  extinguished,  as  he 
may  judge  necessary,  to  be  divided  into  a  suitable  number  of  districts  for 
the  reception  of  such  tribes  or  nations  of  Indians  as  may  choose  to 
^change  the  lands  where  they  now  reside,  and  remove  there,  and  to 
cause  each  of  said  districts  to  be  so  described  by  natural  or  artificial 
marks,  as  to  be  easily  distinguished  from  every  other. 

Sec. 2.  And  he  it  further  enacted..  That  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for 
the  Presiflent  'to  exchange  any  or  all  of  such  districts,  so  to  be  laid  otF 
and  described,  with  any  tribe  6r  nation  of  Indians  now  residing  withia 
the  limits  of  anj^  of  the  States  or  territories,  and  with  which  the  United 
States  have  existing  treaties,  for  the  whole,  or  any  part  or  portion  of  the 
territory  claimed  and  occupied  by  such  tribe  or  nation,  witliin  the 
bounds  of  any  one,  or  more,  of  the  States  or  territories. 

Seo.  3,  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That,  in  the  making  of  any  such 
exchange,  or  exclianges,  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  the  Pi-esident 
solemnly  to  assure  the  tribe  or  nation  with  which  the  exchange  is  made, 
tliat  the  United  States  will  forever  secure  and  guarantee  to  them,  and 
their  heirs  or  successors^  the  country  so  exchanged  with  them,  and  that, 


164  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

if  they  prefer  it,  the  United  States  will  cause  a  patent  or  gi-ant  to  be 
marie  and  executed  to  tliera  for  the  same:  Provided  ahcays,  That  such 
lands  shall  revert  to  the  United  States,  if  the  Indians  beco^ne  extinct,  or 
abandon  the  same, 

Seo.  4.  And  ie  it  further  enacted,  That  if,  upon  any  of  the  lands  now 
occupied  by  the  Indians,  and  to  be  exchanged  for,  there  should  be  such 
improvements  as  add  value  to  the  land  claimed  by  any  individual  or  indi- 
viduals of  such  tribes  or  nations,  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  the  Pre- 
sident tg  cause  such  value  to  be  ascertained,  by  appraisement  or  otherwise, 
and  to  cause  such  ascertained  value  to  be  paid  to  the  persoa  ot  persolis 
•,  claiming  such  improvements. 

Sec.  5.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  Tliat,  upon  the  making  of  any  such 
'  exchange  as  is  contemplated  by  this  act,  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for 
the  President  to  cause  such  aid  and  assistance  to  be  furnished  to  the  emi- 
grants, as  may  be  necessary  and  proper  to  enable  them  to  remove  to,  and 
settle  in,  the  country  for  which  they  may  have  exchanged;  and  also,  to 
give  them  such  aid  and  assistAiice  as  may  be  necessary  for  their  support 
anS  subsistence  for  the  first  year  after  their  removal. 

Seo.  6.  And  he  it  further  enacted.  That  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  foe 
the  President  to  cause  such  tribe  or  nation  to  be  protected,  at  their  new 
residence,  against  all  interruption  or  disturbance  from  any  other  tribe  or 
nation  of  Indians,  or  from  any  other  person  or  persons  whatever. 

Sec.  7.  And  te  it  further  enacted.  That  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for 
the  President  to  have  the  same  siiperintendence  and  care  over  any  tribe 
or  nation  in  the  country  to  which  they  may  remove,  as  contemplated  by 
this  act,  that  he  is  now  authorized  to  have  over  them  at  their  present 
places  of  residence. 

Seo.  8.  And  he  it  further  enacted,  That  for  the  .purpose  of  giving 
effect  to  the  provisions  of  this  act,  the  sum  of  dollars  is  hereby 

appropriated^  to  be  paid  out  of  ^ny  money  in  the  Treasury,  not  otherwise 
appropriated. 

Still  continuing  to  take  his  accustomed  interest  in  the  concerns  of 
the  Indians,  Judge  White,  in  relation  to  the  so-called  ''  Cherokee 
Memorial,"  presented  bj  Mr.  Clay,  spoke  as  follows,  Feb.  4th,  1835 ; 

In  presenting  the  memorial  and  resolutions,  the  Hon.  Senator  has 
gone  into  a  discussion  of  the  powers  of  the  States,  and  the  manner  in 
which  those  powers  have  been  exerted  over  the  Indians. 

I  do  not  believe  any  benefit  is  likely  to  result  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  or  to  the  Indians,  from  such  discussions  ;  but  as  the  sub- 
ject has  been  introduced,  it  is  due  to  the  States,  that,  at  least,  some  of 
the  grounds  upon  which  they  have  acted,  should  be  brought  to  the  notice 
of  the  Senate.  ' 


SPEECH   ON   CHEROKEE    MEMORIAL.  163 

What  "was  the  condition  of  the  Indians,  within  the  limits  of  the  States 
at  the  close  of  the  revolutionary  war  ? 

The  people  of  the  United  States  declared  their  independence,  and  the 
revolutionary  war  in  maintenance  of  that  declaration,  terminated  in  a 
treaty  of  peace  in  1783.  The  limits  and  bounds  of  the  States  are  described 
in  that  treaty.  Eaqh  of  the  States,  v\^ithin  its  territorial  limits,  believed  it 
was  free,  sovereign,  and  independent,  and  that  a  majority  had  a  ric^ht  to 
prescribe  whatever  rules  they  pleased  for  the  government  of  every  person, 
of  every  age,  sex,  and  color,  within  their  acknowledge^  lx)undaries. 

Eaclj  of  these  States  believe  they  still  possess  all  these  powers,  except 
so  far  as  they  have  expressly  granted  to  the  Federal  Government,  for  the 
good  of  the  whole. 

The  articles  of  confederation  gave  to  the  Federal  government  power  to 
regulate  trade  and  intercourse  with  the  I-ndians,  but  contain  an  express 
proviso  that  Congress  shall  not  interfere  with  the  territorial  rights  of  tbo 
States. 

The  first  treaty  with  the  Cherokees  was  made  in  1785,  and  although 
the  articles  referred  to  were  then  in  force,  the  lands  allotted  to  the 
Indians  included  a  largeportion  of  the  territory  of  North  Carolina. 

That  State  was  not  inattentive  to  her  rights.  She  had  an  agent  present 
when  the  treaty  was  negotiated,  and  he  there  entered  the  solemn  protest 
of  bis  State,  more  than  once,  against  this  exercise  of  federal  power. 
These  protests  are  still  on  record,  and  caij  yet  be  produced  at  any  time 
the  Senate  may  desire.  ■  •       ' 

The  next  treaty  -s^^ith'  the  Cherokees  was  after  the  present  constitution 
was  adopted. 

In  the  mean  time,  North  Carolina  had  been  urged  to  <!ede  her  western 
lands  to  the  United  States,  and  one  motive  for  this  was,  that  the  United 
States  would  be  the  better  enabled  to  regulate  her  affairs  with  the 
Cherokees,  it  being  then  believed,  they  all,  or  nearly  all,  lived  on 
these  lands. 

In  1789,  North  Carolina,  yielding  to  these  solicitations,  made  the  cession. 

The  vacant  lands,  after  satisfying  all  existing  claims  against  North 
Carolina,  were  the, property  of  the  United  States,  who  alsof  had  the  sole 
power  of  legislation.  The  United  States  thus  oicning  the  vacant  soil,  and 
having  the  entire  sovereignty  and  jurisdiction,  and  still  believing  the 
Cherokees  resident  upon  this  territory,  made  the  treaty  of  Ilolston  in  1791. 

After  arguing  upon  the  boundary  between  the  Whites  and  the  Indians, 
there  is  one  express  guarantee  to  the  Indians  of  their  lands.  This,  if  my 
memory  serves  me,  is  the  first  guarantee  to  these  Indians.  •  This  guaran- 
tee was  inserted  not  by  the  mere  motion  of  our  Commissioner,  but  by  the 
express  instructions  of  President  Washington.  The  reason  qf  -this  la 
obvious  to  me.  General  Washington  believed,  at  that  day,  the, country 
guaranteed  to  the  Indians  was  a  tract  over  which  the  United  States  alone 
had  the  sovereignty  and  jurisdiction,  and  that  they  were  the  owners  of 
the  soil;  that  neither  the  sovereign  nor  territorial  rights  of  any  State 


16G  MEMOIR   OF   HUGH   LAWSON   WHITE, 

were  invaded  by  such  a  stipulation,  and  that  it  would  be  the  means  of 
preventing  future  encroachments  upon  the  Indians. 

We  now  know  by  our  own  executive  journal,  kept  secret  until  a  few 
years  past,  that  when  the  first  agreements  with  the  Indians  were  made, 
after  the  adoption  of  the  constitution,  the  President  himself  doubted 
whether  they  ought  to  go  through  the  forms  prescribed  for  ti-eaties ;  he 
sent  a  message  to  the  Senate ;  it  doubted,  but  eventually  seemed  to  have 
acted  upon  the  opinion,  that  the  formal  sanction  of  two-thirds  of  the 
Senators  present,  required  to  ratify  treaties,  would  be  a  safe  rule,  as  to 
these  compacts  or  agreements',  which  course  has  been  pursued  ever  since. 
A  further  illustration, of  General  AYashington's  views  as  to  the  rights 
of  States,  may  be  given  by  his  conduct  in  relation  to  lands  within  the 
limits  of  New  York,  which  were  attempted  to  be  secured  to  Indians  by 
treaty.  He  condemned  this  course  on  the  part  of  the  agent,  and  made  it 
the  subject  of  a  special  letter  on  record. 

The  tract  of  country,  ceded  by  North  Carolina  to  the  United  States,  in 
1789,  and  which  was  a  territory  in  1791,  when  the  Ilolston  treaty  was 
made,  continued  to  be  a  territory  till  February,  1796,  when  the  residents 
framed  the  constitution,  and  afterwards  were  admitted  into  the  Union. 

In  the  treaties  with  Cheroke6s,  subsequent  to  that  period  (and  there 
•were  many  of  them,  as  has  been  correctly  said  by  the  honorable  senator 
from  Kentucky)  the  United  States  seemed  te  have  lost  sight  of  the  dis- 
tinction between  their  powers  over  a  country,  of  which  they  had  both 
the  right  of  soil  ax\A  jurisdiction,  and  one  where  the  States  had  the  right 
of  soil  and  jurisdiction,  and  to  have  continued  the  guarantee  as  inserted 
in  the  treaty  of  1791. 

The  States,  however,  do  not  acquies6e  in  this  exercise  of  federal 
power.  The  same  opinion  entertained  by  North  Carolina,  in  1785,  is 
adhered  to  now.  They  maintain  that  they  are  sovereign  and  independent 
communities,  within  the  whole  of  their  chartered  limits,  upon  all  points, 
where  they  have  not  transferred  their  powers  to  the  federal  government. 
They  maintain  that  these  agreements  with  a  portion  of  their  own 
population  are  not  treaties,  within  the  meaning  of  the  Constitution  ;  and 
they  deny  that  they  have  ever  vested  in  the  federal  government  the  ^ower 
by  treaty,  or  otherwise,  with  any  portion  of  the  people  within  theii- limits, 
no  matter  whether  French,  German,  or  Indians,  to  take  from  the  State 
one  acre  of  its  territory,  and  transfer  it  to  any  other  people  whatever. 

They  maintain  that  each  State  ims  the  right,  independently  of  the 
federal  and  all  other  governments,  to  enact  such  laws  for  the  government 
of  their  whole  population,  as,  in  the  wisdom  of  their  own  legislatures, 
may  seem  best  suited  to  the  interest  of  all ;  and  that  in  the  exercise  of 
this  power,  none,  out  of  their  limits,  has  the  right  to  interfere. 

If  the  States  are  right  in  the  operation  of  these  powers,  it  must  clearly 
follow  that  they  alone  have  the  power  to  judge  whether  their  laws  are 
adapted  to  the  condition  and  wants  of  the  people. 
Whether  the  States  are  correct  in  the  assertion  and  maintenance  of 


SPEECH   ON   CHEROKEE   MEMORIAL.  167 

these  rights  and  powers  or  not,  they  think  they  are,  and  many  others 
think  with  them.  They  have  acted  upon  them,  and  will  continue  to  do 
80,  as  I  firmly  believe.  Georgia  has  extended  her  laws  over  the  whole 
limits.  Tennessee  has,  to  some  purposes,  done  the  same  thing,  and  so 
have  North  Carolina  and  Alabama. 

How,  then,  are  these  States  to  be  induced  to  rescind  or  repeal  those 
laws?  'suppose  the  United  States  apply  to  them  for  the  repeal;  they 
will  answer,  their  laws  are  approved  by  their  people,  they  had  the  power 
to  enact  them,  and  they  will  not  repeal  them.  What  then?  Are  the 
United  States  to  apply  force  to  compel  the  repeal  ?  If  they  do,  and  such 
force  is  met  by  an  opposing  force  from  the  States,  we  then  have  pre- 
sented to  our  view  the  most  horrid  of  all  spectacles.  Armed  strife 
between  brothers,  and  in  the  midst  of  it,  what  becomes  of  the  Red  men 
for  whose  rights  this  war  is  waged  ?  They  are  swept  from  this  state  of 
existence.  When  the  war  terminates,  there  will  be  no  Indians  to  be  pro- 
tected by  the  United  States,  or  by  those  States  individually.  ■  .,-  ' 
The  time  has  arrived  when  we  must  all, speak  out  plainly  as  we  think. 
These  people,  if  they  remain  where  they  are,  must  submit  to  the  laws  of 
the  respective  States.  They  cannot  exist  in  the  States  as  a  separate  and 
distinct  community,  governed  by  theirown  customs  and  laws.  Some  of 
them  are  civilized  and  enlightened ;  they  will  make  useful  and  respect- 
able members  of  the  community.  They  may  still  remain  where  they  are 
if  they  choose.  But  this  is  not  the  condition  of  the  mass  of  the  Indian 
population.     They  are  poor,  ignorant,  and  uninformed. 

Residing  where  they  now  do,' certain  misery  and  ruin  await  them. 
If  they  will  remove  beyond  the  Mississippi,  out  of  our  States  and  organ- 
ized territories,  they  may  be  preserved.  Then  they  may  progress  in  that 
civilization  which  has  commenced ;  they  can,  as  freemen,  have  a  govern- 
ment of  their  own  choice ;  their  interests  can  be  promoted,  and  their 
rights  protected,  by  the  United  States,  without  collision  with  any  State. 
Who  now  doubts  that  it  is  their  interest  to  do  so  ?  Few  men  can  doubt  it, 
who  will  take  pains  to  acquire  correct  information,  and  then  duly  consider 
the  subject.  I  believe  the  time  has  nearly  arrived,  and  will  certainly 
soon  have  arrived,  when  there  will  be  but  one  opinion  upon  this  subject 
throughout  the  country. 

The  policy  of  inducing  our  Indians  to  remove  west  of  the  Mississippi, 
did  not  originate  with  this  administration.  As  early,  at  all  events,  as 
1804,  it  was  the  policy  of  Mr.  Jefferson.  It  has  been  the  policy  of  every 
succeeding  administration  ;  and  during  the  last  administration,  it  had, 
in  the  then  Secretary  of  War,  one  of  its  ablest  advocates.  The  great  dis- 
tinction between  this  and  prior  administrations  consists  in  the  present 
having  succeeded  to  a  much  greater.extent  in  carrying  into  effect,  what 
all,  from  the  time  of  Mr.  .Jefferson,  desired  to  accomplish. 

The  honorable  Senator  from  Kentucky  thinks,  as  the  State  of  Georgia 
has  shut  her  courts  against  those  people,  we  ought  to  open  those  of  the 
United  States  to  them.     And  if  we  can,  let  me  ask,  Mr.  President,  of 


168  MEMOIR  OF   HUGH  LAWSON   WHITE. 

■what  practical  benefit  will  such  a  provision  be  ?  Useless. .  Encourage 
a  poor  Indian,  living  surrounded  by  Whites,  unfriendly  to  him,  to  com- 
mence suit  in  the  federal  circuit  court,  and  then  follow  it  here  to  the 
Supreme  court,  to  assert  his  title  to  16Q  or  to  640  acres  of  land,  and  by 
the  time  the  cause  is  decided,  he  and  his  family  will  starve  to  death. 

Instead  of  this,  let  us  encourage  them  by  all  the  means  in  our  power, 
to  remove.  Every  day  they  remain,  the  means  of  the  United  States  to 
furnish  them  comfortable  homes  west  of  the  Mississippi,  are  lessening. 
Other  tribes  are  going  and  getting  their  choice  of  the  country.  Let 
these  be  encouraged  to  remove  speedily ;  provide  funds  for  their  removal, 
for  their  comfortable  support  for  a  season.  Furnish  them  a  permanent 
home ;  guarantee  it  by  all  the  solemnities  which  can  be  deemed  neces- 
sary,  and  then  faithfully  observe  this  guarantee.  Upon  these  points,  if 
additional  legislation  is  found  to  be  proper,  I  am  willing  to  go  to  any 
extent  which  may  be  deemed  necessary,  and  which  is  not  inconsistent 
with  what  is  due  to  the  interests  of  the  great  body  of  our  community. 

In  a  letter  to  J.  A.  Whiteside,  Esq.,  dated  Sept.  17,  1885,  Jadge 
White  furnishes  a  valua-ble  statement  of  his  views  on  the  Indian  ques- 
tion.    In  a  portion  of  that  letter  he  says-:  ' 

I  most  heartily  approve  the  policy  of  the  present  Administration  in 
removing  the  Indians  settled  within  the  States  and  territories,  to  the 
western  side  of  the  Mississippi ;  and  then  settling  them  beyond  the  limits 
of  any  State  or  organized  territory,  and  have  given  such  aid  as  was  in 
my  power  to  efi"ect  that  object.  » 

During  the  session  of  1829-30,  the  plan  was  submitted  to  Congress, 
and  after  a  most  laborious  examination  and  discussion,  was  sanctioned 
by  that  body.  In  that  examination  and  discussion,  it  was  my  lot  to  take 
no  inconsiderable  part,  and  at  that  day,  those  with  whom  I  was  associ- 
ated were  pleased  to  think  my  exertions  were  of  no  inconsiderable  value. 
Public  opinion  was  much  divided ;  it  has  now  settled  down  in  an  appro- 
val of  the  plan  then  adopted.  Many  treaties  have  been  formed  with  the 
various  tribes  of  Indians,  and  numbers  of  them  have  been  actually 
removed.  Those  residing  east  of  the  Mississippi,  to  wit:  the  Chickasaws, 
Choctaws,  Creeks,  Cherokees,  and  Seminole  Indians,  were  the  hardest 
to  convince  that  their  interest  would  be  promoted  by  a  removal.  All  of 
these,  except  the  Cherokees,  have  at  length  become  convinced,  ceded  their 
country,  and  have  either  actually  removed,  or  agreed  to  do  so.  The 
Cherokees  yet  remain,  and  parts  of  their  country  are  in  Tennessee,  N. 
Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Alabama.  To  each  of  these  States,  it  is  a  matter 
of  peculiar  interest  that  their  claim  should  be  extinguished,  and  they 
removed.  In  repeated  instances,  the  United  States  have  made  treaties 
with  the  Cherokees  from  the  year  1785  up  to  the  year  1819,  and  solemnly 
bound  themselves  to  guai-antee  to  them  the  country  where  they  now 
reside.  As  early  as  the  year  1802,  the  United  States  made  a  compact 
with  the  State  of  Georgia,  in  which  they  bound  themselves  for  a  valuable 


LETTER   ON   INDIAN    AFFAIRS.  1 G9 

consideration  to  extinguish  the  Indian  tribe  \rithin  her  limits,  so  soon  as 
it  could  be  done  on  reasonable  terms.  On. the  one  hand,  Georgia  has 
been  pressing  for  a  compliance  with  this  stipulation  ;  on  the  other,  the 
Cherokees  have  been  urging  a  compliance  with  the  guarantee  contained 
in  the  treaties.  These  inconsistent  obligations  have  occasioned  much  em- 
barrassment. I  have  mentioned  the  doctrine,  that  if  no  other  govern- 
ment were  concerned  bivt  the  United  States,  they  were  bound  to  make 
good  their  treaty  stipulations,  by  securing  to  the  Indians  the  enjoyment 
of  the  country  guarantied  ;  but  that  Georgia  was  completely  sovereign  and 
independent  within  her  own  acknowledged  limits,  except  so  far  as  she  had 
expressly  surrendered  her  sovereignty  to  the  United  States  ;  that  she  never 
had  granted  the  power  to  the  Federal  government,  by  treaty  or  other- 
wise, to  dispose  of  any  portion  of  her  territory ;  and  therefore  these  guaran- 
tees to  the  Indians.could  not  be  complied  with  specifically,  but  must  be 
compensated  by  paying  to  the  Indians  the  full  value  of  their  country 
whenever  the  state  chose  to  assert  her  rights  within  her  own  limits. 

This  subject  I  had  occasion  to  discuss  at  length,  in  the  early  part  of  the 
year  1830,  and  have  maintained  this  doctrine,  at  all  times,  and  in  all 
places,  when  it  was  spoken  of  in  my  presence,  from  that  day  to  fehis. 

On  all  occasions  I  have  used  every /taV  means  in  ray  power  to  produce 
a  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  to  sell  out  their  dajm  to  the 
United  States,  and  remove,  and  he  who  asserts  to  the  contrary  does  him- 
self great  injustice,  because  he  asserts  that  which  is  untrue. 

By  those  who  have  latterly  been  disposed  to  find  fault,  it  has  been 
alleged,  that  winter  before  last,  the  United  States  negotiated  a  treaty 
with  the  Cherokees,  which,  if  ratified  by  the  Senate,  would  have  put  this 
question  at  rest,  and  that  I  was  opposed  to  its  ratification. 

It  is  true,  at  the  time  mentioned,  Andrew  Ross,  James  Starr,  and  some 
others,  came  on  to  Washington,  and  there  made  what  was  called  a  treaty ; 
and  it  is  also  true,  that  instrument  was  submitted  to  the  Senate  for  rati- 
fication, and  that  the  whole  committee,  of  which  I  was  one  member, 
reported  against  its  ratification,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  not  a  treaty. 

A  treaty  is  a  contract  or  agreement  between  two  or  more  nations  or 
countries.  To  give  it  any  validity,  it  must  have  the  assent  of  hoih 
parties.  This  instrument,  if  ratified,  was  intended  to  bind  the  United 
States  on  one  part,  and  the  Cherokee  Indians  on  the  other. 

Andrew  Ross  and  his  party  were  not  diiefs  of  the  nation  ;  they  did  not 
pretend  to  represent  the  nation  ;  they  were  not  authorized. by  the  nation 
to  make  the  treaty,  nor  did  they  pretend  they  had  ^any  such  aidhorily ; 
and  there  was  a  protest  signed,  or  pretended  to  be  signed,  by  almost  the 
whole  nation,  against  any  attempt  of  theirs  to  make  a  treaty. 

Under  these  circumstances,  I  could  find  no  principle  or  precedent 
which  would  justify  me  in  calling  that  a  treaty,  which  not  only  had  not 
the  assent  of  the  Indians,  but  was  made  against  their  express  wishes ; 
therefore  I  hold  myself  bound  not  to  recommend  its  ratification.  I 
sought  information  from  the  Secretary  of  War  and  others,  and  could  find 
no  one  man  who  could  furnish  me  with  either  principle  or  precedent  for 
a  course  different  from  that  which  I  pursued.  It  will  bo  recollected, 
that  during  a  prior  administration,  by  some  inadvertence,  a  treaty  had 


170  MEMOIR   OF   nUGH   LAWSON    WHITE. 

lieen  made  and  ratified  with  the  Creek  Indians,  which,  upon  examina- 
tion, was  found  to  be  without  anthoritij  from  the  Indians,  and  Avhat 
were  the  consequences?  A  civil  war;  the  principal  Indian  negotiators 
put  to  death,  and  the  treaty  annulled  by  the  President  and  Senate. 

With  a  full  knowledge  of  all  this,  I  could  not  recommend  the  ratifica- 
tion of  this  instrument  as  a  treaty,  when,  in  my  best  judgment,  it  wanted 
the  essential  requisites  to  make  it  binding  upon  the  parties. 
"  It  has  also  been  objected  to  me,  that  during  the  same  winter,  I  intro- 
duced and  urged  the  Senate  to  adopt  a  resolution,  requesting  the  Presi- 
dent to  negotiate  with  the  State  of  Georgia,  for  a  portion  of  her  territory 
for  the  Cherokees.  It  is  true,  such  a  resolution  was  recommended  by  the 
unanimous  consent  of  the  Committee  on  Indian  Affairs,  of  which  I  was 
chairman,  and  the  Senate  did  not  adopt  it.  I  was  induced  to  give  my 
support  to  that  resolution  for  the  following  reasons: — Georgia  had 
extended  her  laws  over  the  Indians.  She  had  parcelled  out  among  her 
citizens  the  Indian  territory,  reserving  to  the  Indians  the  tracts  of  land 
npon  lohich  they  actually  resided.  Ross  and  the  other  chiefs  petitioned 
Congress  to  make  good  the  guaranties  contained  in  the  treaties.  Georgia 
was  pressing  to  have  the  Indian  title  extinguished  according  to  tho  com- 
pact, and  one  of  the  senators  had  introduced  a  bill,  the  first  section  of 
which  provided  that  the  United  States  should  purchase  out  from  the 
Indians  those  settlements  which  had  been  reserved  by  the  Georgian  laws, 
if  they  were  willing  to  sell ;  and  the  second  section  provided,  if  the 
Indians  would  not  sell,  that  then  the  United  States  should  purchase  out 
from  the  individual  citizens  their  jus  simplex  in  those  reservations,  and 
vest  the  same  in  the  Indian  occupants. 

These  various  matters  were  all  before  the  committee  at  the  same  time, 
and  in  addition  to  this,  Ross  and  his  party  communicated  to  the  commit- 
tee a  wish,  if  nothing  more  could  he  done,  that  the  Federal  Government 
should  endeavour  to  procure  from  Georgia  a  small  portion  of  her  territory, 
upon  which  the  Indians  might  reside  a  few  years,  until  they  could  be 
better  qualified  for  the  civil  government  of  the'  State  of  Georgia,  and 
alleged  that  some  influential  men  in  Georgia  had  assured  them  that  the 
State  would  be  willing  to  make  such  an ■  arrangement,  and  if  she  would 
not  when  applied  to  by  the  Federal  Government,  that  then  the  Indians 
would  sell  out  their  whole  country  and  remove. 

In  this  st«,te  of  things,  and  under  these  circumstances,  I  gave  my  sanc- 
tion to  the  resolutions,  without  much  expectation  that  Georgia  would 
yield  to  the  wishes  of  the  Indians ;  but  with  a  settled  conviction  that  if 
Georgia  refused,  that  then  the  Indians  could  have  no  2))'ete,vt  for  longer 
delaying  a  treaty  ;  and  I  yet  believe,  if  the  Senate  had  adopted  the  reso- 
lution, and  Georgia  had  refused,  that  before  this  time  we  should  have 
had  a  treaty  with  the  Cherokees.  In  thip  I  may  be  mistaken,  therefore 
find  no  fault  with  that  part  of  the  Senate  who  thought  differently. 

During  the  last  session  of  Congress,  there  wero  two  parties  of  Chero- 
kees in  Washington,  the  one  headed  by  John  Ross,  and  supposed  to 
represent  the  whole  of  the  Cherokees,  tiie  other  by  Ridge,  and  said  to 
represent  a  small  portion  only.  3Iemorials  from  both  these  parties  had 
been  presented  to  the  Senate,  the  first,  praying  Congress  to  make  good 


LETTER  ON  INDIAN  AFFAIRS.  171 

their  treaty  stipulations,  and  the  last,  praying  provision  to  be  made  for 
their  removal  west  of  the  Mississippi.  These  memorials  were  referred  to 
the  committee,  of  which  I  was  chairman.  Near  the  close  of  the  session, 
I  was  informed  by  the  Secretary  of  War  that  the  executive  had  been 
negotiating  with  lloss  and  his  party  for  the  extinguishment  of  their  title 
to  the  whole  country  now.  occupied  by  them,  and  that  they  had  disagreed 
as  to  the  price  to  be  given,  and  that  Koss  had  proposed  to  accept  any 
sum  which  the  Senate  would  say  was  reasonable,  and  therefore  it  was 
■wished  the  Senate  should  give  its  advice  as  to  the  ptice. 

The  difficulty  at  once  presented  itself,  what  mode  could  be  adopted  to 
bring  the  eubject  before  the  Senate,  so  as  to  enable  that  body  to  express 
its  opinion,  I  took  the  liberty  of  suggesting  that  the  President  ought  to 
send  a  confidential  message,  asking  the  advice  of  the  Senate,  and  then, 
without  doubt^"  it  would  be  given,  aa  this  had  been  the  course  pursued  by 
President  AVashington  and  the  Senate,  prior  to  the  treaty  of  1791,  with 
this  same  nation  of  Indians.  The  Secretary  afterwards  informed  me  he 
had  conferred  with  the  President,  who  declined  sending  any  message 
asking  advice  from  the  Senate,  and  thus  it  appeared  the  negotiation  must 
fall  through,  as  at  that  time  no  other  regular  mode  of  bringing  the  subject 
before  that  body  occurred  to  me,  or  was  suggested  by  any  other  person. 
Much  solicitude  was  felt  by  several  members  with  whom  I  conversed,  as 
well  as  by  myself,  that  the  opportunity  of  settling  amicably  a  controversy 
which  had  occasioned  much  trouble  pften,  and  serious  apprehensions, 
should  be  lost,  and -in  reflecting  upon  the  subject,  a  mode  of  bringing 
the  matter  before  the  Senate  presented  itself  to  my  mind,  which  was 
satisfactory.  I  stated  it  to  the  committee  ;  they  concurred  in  it ;  we 
brought  the  case  before  the  Senate,  and  it  aided  in  the  adoption  of  a  reso- 
lution which  you  have  seen  published. 

Arjy  statement  or  suggestion  which  has  been  made,  that  either  pub- 
licly or  privately  I  have  said  or  done  anything  since  being  a  member  of 
the  Senate,  with  a  view,  in  any  respect,  to  delay  or  defeat  a  treaty  with 
the  Cherokees,  is  entirely  erroneous ;  my  best  exertions  have,  at  all 
times,  been  used  to  effect  that  object,  and  when  the  resolution,  just 
alluded  to,  was  adopted,  I  felt  that  my  task  was  finished,  and  that  a 
treaty  would  be  the  immediate  consequence.  If  it  fails,  the  fault  ought 
not  to  be  placed  to  my  account. 

In  1826,  soon  after  his  entrance  into  political  life,  Judge  White,  in 
common  with  the  whole  party  of  which  Gen.  Jackson  became  the 
head,  and  in  conformity  to  the  declarations  of  that  leader,  was  an 
avowed  enemy  to  the  existing  system  of  executive  patronage,  and  the 
clafes  of  measures  naturally  resulting  from  it.  In  1833,  upon  the 
receipt  of  Mr.  Calhoun's  report  (from  the  select  committee  appointed 


1 72  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

at  his  instance)  to  inq,uire  into  the  extent  and  operation  of  the  con- 
stantly increasing  patronage  of  the  executive  of  the  United  States, 
Judge  White  spoke  in  support  of  this  bill,  although  by  so  doing  he 
incurred  nnich  displeasure  from  liis  friends  of  the  party  in  power. 
He  avowed  the  same  principles  that  he  had  avowed  before,  in  1826, 
and  afterwards  in  1830.  He  was  consistent  in  action  and  in  speech; 
hut  his  friends  of  the  Democratic  host,  'vyho  were  now  using  for  their 
own  purposes  the  machinery  whose  use  had  aftbrded  th6m  so  fine  a 
subject  for  invective  when  in  the  hands  of  their  opponents,  could  not 
patiently  listen  to  a  speech  which,  while  it  was  strictly  and  entirely 
a  repeated  statement  and  a  support  of  Judge  White's  own  v-iews, 
was  indirectly  though  clearly  a  thorough  exhibition  of  their  own 
inconsistency.  Judge  W^hite's  remaiiis  on  this  subject  are  of  lasting 
interest ;  and  that  not  the  least  at  the  present  day.  We  subjoin  the 
essential  portions  of  this  forcible  and  valuable  speech.  February  16th, 
1835,  Mr.  White  said: 

Mr.  President :.  It  was  my  fortune  to  be  placed  on  the  committee  of 
nine,  in  the  j^ear  1826,  whose  proceedings  have  be^n  spoken  of  in  this 
debate.  I  am  one  of  the  committee  who  concurred  in  reporting  the  bill 
said  to  be  similar  to  the  one  under  consideration.  I  am  now  as  ready 
to  carry  out  the  opinions  then  entertair>ed  as  I  was  at  that  time,  unless 
it  can  be  shown  that  Congress  has  no  power  to  make  the  enactments,  or 
that  they  would  be  injurious  to  society. 

The  nuniber  of  officers  employed  in  handling  public  monej'  was  neces- 
sarily very  much  increased  during  the  war  which  terminated  in  1814:-15. 
Although  the  President  had  the  power  to  remove  all  the  officers  men- 
tioned in  this  bill,  yet  it  was  bejieved,  in  the  year  1820,  it  had  not  been 
exercised  as  frequently  as  the  public  interest  required ;  officers  who  had 
collected  money  which  they  ought  to  have  paid  into  the  treasuiy,  and 
officers  who  drew  money  out  of  the  treasury,  -which  it  was  their  duty 
to  disburse  according  to  the  requirement  of  acts  of  Congress,  had  in 
many  instances  failed  in  the  performance  of  their  duty  ;  losses  had  been 
sustained,  and  more  Avere  feared,  unless  additional  provisions  were 
made  ;  these  circumstances  gave  rise  to  the  act  of  1820. 

By  this  statute,  at  the  end  of  every  four  years  each  of  these  officers  is  to 
be  out  of  office  as  a  matter  of  course,  without  the  exercise  of  any  execu- 
tive power  whatever ;  and  during  four  years,  thci  President,  if  he 
chooses  to  do  so,  has  the  power  of  removing  all  or  any  of  them  from 
•  office.  In  carrying  into  effi^ct  the, provisions  of  this  act,  it  was  expected 
that  when  the  term  of  an  officer  expired,  the  President  would  inform 
himself  through  tlie  proper  department,  whether  the  officer  had  dis- 
charged his  duty  with  fidehty  ;  and  if  he  was  informed  he  had,  that  he 


OFFICE   AND   PATRONAGE.  173 

■would  then  renominate  him  for  the  same  office  for  another  term.  I 
believe  that  the  benefits  expected  from  this  law  have  been  realized  by 
the  practice  under  it.  Ever  since  I  have  bad  the  honor  of  a  seat  on  this 
floor,  I  atfirm  that,  both  under  the  past  and  the  present  Administration, 
I  have  witnessed  the  strictest  scrutiny  into  the  conduct  of  these  officers, 
■whenever  renominated ;  and  I  do  not  remember  a  single  case  in  which 
there  was  a  disposition  manifested  to  continue  any  one  of  them  Avho  had 
been  faithless  in  liis  trust.  But  in  1826,  the  committee  believed,  tliat 
although  much  good  had  resulted  from  this  law,  yet,  in  the  struggles  for 
place  and  for  power  between  parties,  very  great  evils  which  had  not 
been  foreseen,  Tvould  in  all  probability  be  experienced.  The  whole  of 
these  officers,  amounting  to  a  vast  flumber,  all  going  out  at  the  ejnd  Of 
each  four  years,  and  being  entirely  dependent' upon  the  will  of  the  Presi- 
dent, for  the  renewal  of  their  commissions,  many  of  them  would  be 
induced  to  look  more  to  their  OAvn  situation  and  interest  than  to  the 
■\velfare  of  the  country ;  and,  with  a  view  to  secure  themselves  they 
■R'ould  be  most  likely  to  conform  their  opinions  to  the  wishes  of  the 
President,  whoever  he  might  happen  to  be.  If  he  was  a  candidate  for 
re-election  himself,  they  would  most  likely  vote  for  him ;  or  if  one  of  his 
friends  was  a-  candidate,  they  -would  vote  for  him,  although  they  might 
not  conscientiously  believe  the  best  interests  of  the  country  -would,  be 
promoted  by  the  interests  of  his  opponent.  It  is  no  answer  to  this 
argument  tjo  say  it  casts  reproach  upon  these  ofiicers  to  suppose  they 
-would  surrender  their  opinions  to  those  in  power.  Mr.  President,  is  it 
a  reproach  to  say  they  are  men?  Is  it  a  stigma  upon  their  character  to 
say  that  -while  they  live  in  this  world,  that  while  they  have  families  to 
provide  for,  they  must  have  the  means  of  living  ?  We  all  know  that  we 
are  too  apt  to  conclude  that  our  neighbors  will  be  pretty  well  provided 
for  when  we  are  very  weU  provided  for  ourselves.  '  Experience  con- 
vinces us  that  -when  a  man  who  is  dependent  on  his  own  exertions  for  a 
living,  obtains  one  of  these  offices,  he  and  his  family  manage  well  if  they 
keep  their  expenditures  witliin  their  salary.  They  become  dependent 
upon  the  quarter's  salary  for  food  and  clothing.  If  deprived  of  the  office, 
the  man  knows  not  what  to  turn  his  hand  to, -to  earn  a  dollar  to  subsist 
upon.  To  be  deprived  of  the  office  is  to  be  deprived  of  the  only  means 
of  obtaining  a  livelihood  by  honest  means.  Under  such  circumstances,  it 
is  most  likely  the  officer  will  not  give  his  judgment  fair  play;  he  will 
conform  bis  opinions  to  the  opinion  of  the  man  who  has  his  all  in  his 
power ;  or  if  he  has  manliness  enough  to  form  an  impartial  opinion  of 
the  merits  of  the  respective  candidates,  he  will  too  seldom  have  tho 
fortitude  to  express  it,  either  in  couversation  or  by  his  vote.  The  pro- 
bability is  that  he  will  soon  lose  all  that  manly  independence  so  essential 
to  the  preservation  of  a  free  government. 

But,  Mr.  President,  this  evil   does  not  stop  -with  the  head  of  the 


174  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

family;  the  same  tone  of  servile  feeling  is  communicated  to  his  Tvhole 
family.  It  stops  not  with  his  wife  and  his  children  ;  it  is  communicated 
to  his  family  connections.  They  know  the  situation  of  the  officer ;  he 
and  they  talk  it  over  in  their  family  circle ;  they  sympathize  with  him 
and  all  know  the  feelings  of  the  executive  will  he  the  more  kind  towards 
him  in  proportion  to  his  influence  among  his  friends ;  and  the  result  will 
be  that  in  most  cases  they  will  all  settle  dowa  in  the  conviction  that  it  is 
most  wise  to  think  and  vote  as  the  President  wishes.  Very  little 
reflection,  I  think,  must  satisfy  us  of  the  alarming  extent  of  this  influence 
in  our  elections.  All,  district  attorneys,  all  custom-house  officers,  all 
paymasters,  all  rqceivers  -©f  public  nioH^ys  at  your  land  offices,  and  all 
surveyors  of  your  public  lands,  with  their  clei-ks,  and  all  their  family 
connections,  placed  iu  a  situation, to  do  as  the  President  of y the  United 
States  may  wish ;  add  to  this  the  further  consideration  that  these  men, 
from  their  official  stations,  each  has  vastly  more  influence  among  his 
acquaintances  than  he  would  have  if  he  were  a  private  man.  Societj^, 
from  the  very  situation  of  the  officer,  will  suppose  him  a  better  judge  of 
the  fitness  of  a  man  for  the  presidential  chair  than  he  would  be  if  he 
were  a  private  man  :  besides  that,  many  will  know  that  tlie  officer  will 
have  it  in  his  power  to  do  them  good  turns  in  his  offioe  if  they  can. 
secure  his  good  opinion. 

Now,  let  us  suppose  a  President  in  office,  possessed  of  the  mass  of  i-nflu- 
ence  thus  collected,  wishing  to  be  elected  for  a  second  term,  when  it  was 
the  interest  of  society  to  leave  him  out  and  put  some  other  person  in  :  or 
let  us  suppose  a  President  in  for  the  last  time,  and  wishing  to  designate 
some  individual  as  his  successor,  who  would  not  bo  the  choice  of  a  majority, 
if  left  free  to  act  according  to  their  unbiased  judgment.  Wliat  then 
would  most  probably  happen  ?  We  might  some  time  find  that  the  presi- 
dent would  not,  in  such  a  case,  be  contented  with  all  these  people  simply 
tbinking  with  him  and  voting  with  him ;  they  must  do  more  on  pain  of 
not  being  renominated ;  they  must  each  man  do  his  best  to  influence  as 
many  to  think,  to  speak,  and  to  act  with  them,  as  they  can  procure. 
"Where  could  you  find  a  man  able  to  make  a  stand  in  opposition  to  this 
demand  ?  NoAvhere ;  and  you  would  seldom  fin4  one  willing  to  make  the 
experiment.  Every  one  must  believe  he  would  have  no  chance  of  success 
against  such  fearful  odds.  These  officers  and  their  frie;ids  would  act  in 
concert  from  one  end  of  the  Union  to  the  other.  They,  will  have  it  in  their 
power  to  pour  out  at  once  through  the  whole  body  politic,  a  flood  that 
would  sweep  from  the  purest  man  that  lives,  every  particle  of  rei)utatiou 
he  had  acquired  by  a  long  life  of  virtue  and  usefulness.  In  182G,  as  one 
member  of  the  committee,  I  came  to  tlie  conclusion  that  it  Avas  danger- 
ous to  leave  such  a  power  in  the  hands  of  the  executive,  and  through  our 
chairman  expressed  that  opinion  to  the  world.  I  entertain  the  same 
opinion  now,  and  am  prepared  to  re-affirm,  and  to  act  upon  it.     Then  I 


OFFICE   AND   PATKONAGE.  175 

was  in  opposition  to  the  Administration ;  now,  I  am  a  friend  to  tlie  Admin- 
istration. This  can  make  no  change  in  my  course.  "When  wo  have  a 
pm-e  and  virtuous  man  for  onr  Oliief  Magistrate  he  will  thank  Congress  to 
take  from  him  eveiy  discretionary  power  which  it  can  take  with  pro- 
priety. It  will  ease  him  of  a  labor  and  responsibility  most  unpleasant  to 
a  good  man,  and  he  will  still  have  as  many  discretionary  powers  as  he 
■will  know  how  to  exercise  for  the  public  good.  If  ever  it  should  be  our 
misfortune  to  have  one  of  an  opposite  character,  disposed  to  Hse  aUhis 
powers  for'the  benefit  of  himself  and  his  friends,  and  for  the  purpose  of 
peri)etuating  power  in  his  and  their  hands,  then  society  at  large  Ought  to 
thank  us  for  strippiugthe  executive  of  this  influence. 

My  opinions  upon  this  subject  are  not  founded  upon  the  petty  considera- 
tion of  who  is  in  power,  whether  he  is  a  political  friend  or  a  political  oppo- 
nent; they  rest  upon  the  eternal  principles  of  what  I  think  is  right  and 
wi'oug  between  those  who  are  in  and  those  who  are  out  of  power.  They 
are  founded  upon  principle  deep  as  the  foundations  of  government  itself; 
upon  principles  the  disregard  of  which  will  poison  the  very  fountain 
from  which  all  the  blessings  of  our  free  and  happy  government  flow.  The 
elective  franchise — corrupt  that ;  place  our  citizens  in  such  a  situation 
that  they  wiU  not  freely  form  opinions  for  themselves  and  fearlessly  act 
upon  them  ;  and  we  shall  have  little  left  worth  preserving. 

When  called  on  to  act  my  part,  it  is  matter  not  tq  be  considered  by  me, 
whether  my  friends  are  in  or  out.  In  1826,  when  called  op  for  an  opinion, 
my  friends  and  myself  were  at  the  bottom  of  the  political  wheel.  I  then 
entertained  and  expressed  an  opinion.  Now  it  has  turned;  my  friei;)ds 
and  myself  are  at  th6  top ;  our  opponents  are  at  the  bottom ;  where  we 
may  be  with  the  next  whirl,  no  man  can  tell.  As  wise  men,  what  ought 
■we  to  do?  We  ought  to  act  justly  to  all  men,  honestly  carry  out  our  own 
old  opinions^^  and  secure  the  people,  as  far  as  we  can,  in  the  free,  umn- 
fluenced  exercise  of  their  own  opinions  at  elections.  My  principles  are 
to  limit  power,  if  we  can,  so  as  to  make  every  man  secure  in  voting  for 
whom  he  pleases,  as  he  is  in  matters  of  religion ;  in  worshipping  his 
Maker  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience.  When  power  is 
so  limited  that  no  man  can  so  use  it  as  to  injure  his  opponents,  then,  and 
then  only,  do  I  consider  myself  safe. 

The  question  recurs,  how  can  Congress  secure  the  citizen  in  oflSce  against 
an  arbitrary  exercise-  of  this  power,  in  cages  where  the  public  good  does 
not -require  it?  The  committee  have  attempted  to  give  this  security  by 
providing  that  whenever  a  nomination  is  made  to  the  Senate  to  fill  a 
vacancy  occasioned  by  a  removal,  the  President  shall  state  the  reasons 
for  such  removal.  This  it  has  been  contended  Congress  has  no  power  to 
do,  because  all  executive  power  is  vested  in  the  President  by  the  Consti- 
tution, and  removal  from  office  is  an  exercise  of  executive  power. 

The  arguments  upon  this  point  are  far  from  being  satisfactory  to  my 


176  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

mind,  and  I  must  crave  the  indulgence  of  the  Senate  Avhile  I  present  aa 
briefly  as  possible  my  own  views  upon  it. 

Is  any  gentleman  prepared  to  state  it  as  his  opinion  that  under  our 
form  of  government,'  executive  power  is  unlimited  and  undefined?     I 
hold  no  such  doctrine ;  and  it  would  appear  to  me  a  most  wild  and  mis 
chievous  opinion. 

The  executive  power,  in  our  government,  in  the  President,  is  that  vested 
in  him  i)y  express  grants  in  the '  Constitution,  or  by  acts  of  Congress 
passed  in  -pursuance  of  the  Constitution,  and  no  more.  By  the  Constitu- 
tion, "  all  legislative  power  herein  granted  is  vested  in  Congress."  By  the 
same  instrument  the  executive  power  is  vested  in  a  President.  In  this 
latter  clause,  the  words  "herein  granted,"  used  in  the  formA'  are  dropped. 
The  reason  for  dropping  them  is  to  my  mind,  very  obvious.  If  they  had 
been  used  as  to  the  President,  he  would  have  but  a  small  portion  of  the 
powers  necessary  to  be  vested  in  him  to  enable  him  to  carry  on  the  affairs 
of  the  government.  The  framers  of  that  instrument  foresaw  that  he 
must  have  many  more  powers  than  they  could  specify  in  the  Constitution, 
and  therefore  they  say  the  executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  a  President, 
intending  that  he  should  have  and  exercise  all  the  power  they  themselves 
afterwards  might  vest  in  him,- and  also  aU  others  which  Congress  might 
frofti  time  to  time  vest  in  him  by  laws  passed  in  pursuance  of  the  Consti- 
tution. And  afterwards  they  sum  up  his  duties  by  saying  that  he  shall 
see  that  the  laws  are  faithfully  executed. 

Under  these  several  clauses  the  executive  powers  are  easily  ascertained. 
We  first  look  into  the  Constitution,  and.  there  see  what  powers  are 
expressly  given  to  him.  Next  we  look  at  the  acts  of  Congress,  and 
there  End  what  powers  Congress  has  invested  him  with ;  and  thus  we 
ascertain  his  whole  powers,  and  then  we  see  that  his  duties  are  to  see  that 
all  these  powers  are  faithfully  executed.  Whatever  powers  a're'  vested  by 
the  Constitution,  Congress  has  no  power  to  change:  whatever  powers 
they  vest  by  statute,  they  may  change'  and  modify  at  pleasure.  Any 
other  notfon  of  executive  powers  vested  in  the  President,  it  seems  to 
me,  cannot  be  maintained  under  our  frame  of  government.  By  the 
Constitution  two  classes  of  officers  are  evidently  intended.  One  of 
these.  Congress  is  bound  to  create;  and  when  created,  the  tenure  of 
their  office  is  fixed  by  the  Constitution,  and  can  never  be  changed  by 
act  of  Congress.  As  relates  to  the  other  class.  Congress  may  create  the 
office  or  not,  as  they  please.  In'  creating  it,  they  may  fix  the  tenure  as 
they  please  ;  for  life,  for  years,  or  at  y'lTl ;  they  prescribe  what  duties  they 
please,  and  fix  the  compensation  to  suit  their  own  pleasure ;  and  they 
may  point  otit  ithe  mode  in  which  the  officer  is  to  be  removed  or 
displaced. 

Ours  is  emphatically  a  government  of  laws.    We  are  a  free  pebple 
because  it  is  so.     Whenever  the  will  of  the  people  is  expressed,  either  in 


OFFICE   AND   PATKONAGE.  177 

the  Constitution  or  in  a  law  passed  in  pursuance  thereof,  it  must  be  com- 
plied with,  because,  according  to  the  theory  of  our  government,  the 
people  are  sovereign.  No  person  doubts,  or  can  doubt,  the  power  of  the 
President  to  remove  in  such  cases  ;.  but  the  manner  in  wliich  he  acquires 
•ttiis  power  is  a  different  question.  Gentlemen  who  argue  against  this 
section  say,  he  has  it  from  the  Constitution,  because  it  is  an  executive 
power.  I;deuy  this,  and  say  it  is  an  executive  power  because  it  is  made 
so  by  statute,  and  he  performs  a  constitutional  duty  when  he  removes, 
because  he  is  as  much  bpund  to  perform  executive  duties  pointed  out  '^y 
statute  as  he  is  to  perform  those  specified  by  the  Constitution.  It  is  an 
executive'  power,  because  it  was  the  will  of  the  people,  through  Con- 
gress, as  their  agent,  to  make  it  so ;  and  the  same  power,  through  the 
saifle  agent,  could  have  made  it  a  judicial  duty,  if  it  had  been  deemed 
•wise  so  to  provide. 

Mr.  President,  these  are  the  principles  upon,  which  I  was  prepared  to 
act  in  1820.  Tli«y  are  those  upon  which  I  wished  to  bring  into  power 
the  present  Chief  Magistrate.  I  speak  only  for  myself;  but  I  beheved 
they  -were  the  principles  of  the  party  with  which  I  acted,  and  that  we 
wel-e  to''  give  effect  to  those  principles,  so  far  as  we  might  have  the 
power.  For  one,  I  have  seen  no  sufficient  reason  to  change  them,  and 
am  pi-epared  to  act  them  out.  It  is  in  vain;  to  tell  me  that  this  is  a 
party  question.  It  is  a  question  of  fundamental  principles,  and  I  am  on 
that  side  of  it  in  which  I  have  been  educated,  on  which  I  have  hereto- 
fore acted,  as  well  as  my  humble  abilities  have  enabled  me^;  it  is  one  I 
caanot  abandon  for  any  earthly  consideration,  because  in  its  maintenance 
I  believe  the  prosperity,  happiness  and  security  of  the  present  and  suc- 
ceeding generations  have  a  deep  and  abiding  interest.  It  is  asked  by 
the  opponents  of  this  bill,  wbat  benefit  its  friends  expect  from  a  state- 
ment of  the  reasons  of  the  removal  when  the  nomination  of  a  successor 
is*presented  to  the  Senate  ?  I  answer  for  myself,  I  wish  to  cut  up  by 
the  i^wts  the  demoralizing  tendencies  of  office-hunting.  I  wish  to 
make  such  provisions  by  law  as  will  shield  the  Chief  Magistrate  from 
impositions  practised  upon  him  to  induce  him  to  remove  men  from 
office.  I  wish  to  shield  him  from  being  imposed  upon  as  to  the  charac- 
ter of  those  Avho  apply  for  office.  As  the  law  now  stands,  whenever  a 
man  may  take  a  fimcy  to  an  office  filled  by  his  neighbor,  all  he  has  to  do 
is  to  poison  the  mind  of  the  executive  against  the  incumbent,  and  to 
make  a  tkvorable  impression  as  to  the  fitness  of  him  who  desires  to 
be  the  successor.  These  objects  can  be  accomplished  by  making  charac- 
ters in  secret  upon  paper.  Before  the  officer  is  aware  of  it,  his  reputa- 
tion is  blasted  by  secret  and  confidential  communications  made  by  some 
of  those  he  had  esteemed  his  friends ;  they  are  lodged  with  the  execu- 
tive, where  it  is  expected  they  will  remain  secret ;  and  upon  the  strength 
of  these  representations  the  officer  is  removed.     When  this  is  accom- 

12 


178  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    'VyHITE. 

plislied,  tlie  scuffle  commences  for  a  successor,  and  paper  characters  aro 
procured  for  perhaps  lialf  a  dozen  apphcants ;  and  very  frequently',  the 
individual  having,  in  point  of  fact,  the  worst  character  of  any  in  the 
group  is  so  dressed  up  and  supported  by  eertificafces  as  to  convince  the 
executive  that  the  public  interest  will  be  promoted  by  selecting  him  as 
the  successor,  and  he  is  nominated  to  the  Senate.  The  business  does 
not  end  here.  All  the  disappointed  applicants  then  go  to  work  with 
senators  to  defeat  a  confirmation  of  the  nomination,  each  hoping  that  if 
that  is  done,  he  stands  next  best  with  the  executive,  and  will  secure 
the  office. 

Under  the  present  state  of  things,  society  will  become  demoralized; 
men  will  be  constantly  coveting  tlmt  possessed  by  their  neighbors;  and 
for  the  sake  of  procuring  what  they  covet,' they  will  themselves  bear,  and 
will  procure  others  to  bear  false  witness.  Under  the  laws,  as  they  now 
stand,  the  business  of  office-hunting  will  become  a  science.  Men  will  be 
selected  and  furnished  with  funds  to  defray  the  expense  of  coming  to 
Washington,  for  the  purpose  of  having  one  set  turned'  out  and  another 
set  put  in,  by  means  of  artful  tales,  secretly  gotten  up  and  reduced  to 
writing,  which,  it  is  supposed,  will  never  see  the  light.  This  officer  and 
representative  of  office-hunters  will  come  on  with  one  pocket  full  of  bad 
characters  with  which  to  turn  out  incumbents,  a^d  the  other  full  of  good 
characters  with  which  to  provide  for  his  constituents. 

Pass  this  bill,  and  a  wholesome'  check  will  be  given  to  this  whole 
system.  Require  the  Reasons  for  removal  to  be  stated,  and  no  man  will 
dare  to  make  a  statement  which  he  does  not  believe  to  be  true,  because 
exposure  and  disgrace  will  certainly  be  the  consequence.  You  will  take 
out  of  the  hand  of  the  cowardly  assassin,  the  poisoned  dagger  heretofore 
used  in  the  dark.  You  will  shield  the  executive  from  mistakes  founded 
on  false  representations.  No  executive  can  be  personally  acquainted  with 
the  characters  of  all  men  in  office,  nor  "with  tlie  characters  of  all  those 
who  desire  office;  he  must  act  upon  information  d-erived  from  others;  he 
ought,  and  I  feel  persuaded  the  present  Chief  Magistrate  %yill,  thank  Con- 
gress for  any  plan  by  which  he  may  be  the  better  enabled  to  discharge 
his  official  duties  to  the  "enhancement  of  the  welftire  of  society. 

Another  advantage  to  be  derived  from  this  bill  is,  that  it  will  check 
the  tliirst  for  office,  and  restore  harmony  to  society.  When  a  man  is 
removed  for  want  of  capacity,  for  want  of  integrity,  for  intemperance,  or 
for  lack  of  business  habits,  why  hot  put  down  the  reason?  Who  is 
harmed  by  i,t?  Nobody.  Now  a  man's  reputation  is  stabbed  in  the 
dark;  by  whom,  or  in  what  manner,  he  is  unable  to  find  out.  Pass  this 
bill,  and  if  a  man  is  injured,  he  will  know  by  whom,  and  in  what  man- 
ner ;  and  can  wipe  out  the  stain,  not  by  a  controversy  with  the  Presi- 
dent, but  by  a  controversy  with  the  man  whose  falsehoods  mislead  the 
President, 


OFFICE   AND    PATRONAGE.  JjQ 

.^  Again ;  vra  shall  in  all  time  to  come  secure  honest  officers  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  honest  political  opinions.  No  President  will  ever  remove  aa 
officer,  simply  because  he  will  not  think  and  act  with  him  in  politics, 
when  he  knows,  this  reason  is  to  be  of  record,  and  to  remain  through  all 
tinie.  ,  For  myself,  now  above  all  others  is  the  tin^e  when  I  wisli  to  see 
this  security  furnished  to  honest  men  in  office.  I  wish  the. credit  of  it 
for  this  Administration,  for  this  executive.  His  anxious  wish  has  beea 
to  secure  to  the  States  and  to  individuals  what,  in  his  judgment,  they  had 
been  improperly  deprived  of  by  federal  pqwer;  and  I  wish  to  see  in  Us 
day  a  surtender  of  all  means  which  an  unprincipled  Chief  Magistrate 
might  use  to  influence  the  political  opinions  of  men.  I  know  hhn  too 
well  not  to  believe  it  would  meet  his  hearty  approbation ;  and  in  time  to 
come,  .when  the  historian  shall  record  the  beneficial  acts  of  our  illustri- 
ous men,  I  feel  persuaded  that  this  act  will  not  escape  his  attention. 

.     The  sentiments  expressed  in  this  speech  are  alluded  to  in  a  letter  to 
J.  A.  Whiteside,  Esq.,  Sept.  IV,  1835.     Judge  White  says  to  that 
.gentleman  : 

When  this  subject  was  before  the  Senate,  I  took  occasion  to  state  the 
reasons  for  my  course  so  fully,  as  to  render  it  unnecessary  now  to  say 
much  on  that  subject.  It  was  a  subject  which  had  excited  much  interest, 
while  Mr.  Adams  was  President  of  the  United  States;  I  formed  the  same 
opinions  then  which  I  expressed  last  winter.  The  subject  was  again  before 
the  Senate  in  1830,  and  at  that  time  my  opinions  were  the  same  they  had 
been  in  1826,  and  yet  are.  I  firmly  believed  they  were  the  same  opin- 
ions entertained  by  Mr.  Jeffi^rson,  and  by  the  political  party  to  which  I 
belonged.  I  not  only  believed  they  were  the  principles  of  the  present 
Chief  Magistrate,  but  thought  one  great  object  of  the  struggle  to  bring 
him  into  power,  was  to  maintain,  and  to  carry  out  by  legislative  enact- 
ments, and  by  his  practice,  these  very  principles. 

^  I  would  hav«  held  myself  dishonored  as  a  man,  and  felt  as  if  bringing 
disgrace  upon  the  Republican  party,  and  more  especially  upon  the  Chief 
Magistrate,  if  I  had  maintained  one  set  of  principles  to  acquire  place  and 
potcer,  and  then,  for  the  purpose  of  retaining  them,  attempted  to  practise 
upon  another. 

No  matter  who  is  President  of  the  United  States,  T  firmly  believe  exec- 
utive power  ought  to  be  limited  within  the  narrowest  limits  compatible 
with  an  administration  of  the  government;  otherwise  all  efficient  agency 
of  the  people,  in  their  own  affiiirs,  will  soon  be  lost.  If  the  executive 
power  and  patronage  be  left  as  they  now  are,  ami  we  should  ever  have  a 
popular  Chief  Magistrate  willing,  from  any  motive,  to  lend  his  influence, 
and  to  use  his  patronage  for  the  purpose  of  designating  and  electing  his 
successor,  then  will  this  tremendous  power  be  felt,  and  if  it  cioes  not  end 


180  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

in  the  destruction  of  those  rights  secured  to  the  people,  and  substituting 
in  their  place  the  will  of  one  man,  then  shall  I  think  the  people  of  tho 
United  States  a  peculiar  race,  and  more  highly  favored  of  heaven  than 
any  who  have  preceded  them. 

I  was  born  under  a  king,  but  raised  and  educated  in  a  Eepublic.  To 
secure  to  our  posterity  the  same  freedom  for  which  our  fathers  toiled,  it 
is  essential  that  executive  favor  and  patronage  should  be  limited  by  law ; 
otherwise  the  day  may  not  be  remote  when  we  will  have  in  fact  a 
monarchy,  and  it  the  more  odious  because  a  deceptive  form  of  a  republic 
"may  be  continued. 

Mr.  Benton,  of  Missouri,  whose  rugged  instinctive  honesty  was  in 
full  sympathy  with  Judge  White  on  this  point,  alone  of  all  the 
administration  phalanx  in  the  Senate,  voted  with  him  for  the  passage 
of  the  bill.  *       -.•» 

In  March  of  the  year  1835,  Judge  White  had  occasion  to  state  his 
views  upon  the  much  contested  question  of  the  Expunging  Eesolu- 
tions,  so  widely  known  and  so  exciting  in,  their  day ;  and  which  were 
introduced  by  Hon.  Thomas  H.  Benton  of  Missouri.  It  may  not  be 
entirely  superfluous  to  mention  that  these  resolutions  contemplated 
the  actual  expunging — the  wiping  out,  or  erasure — from  the  journals 
of  the  Senate,  of  a  certain  vote  of  censure  upon  General  Jackson,  for 
his  conduct  in  removing  the  deposits  from  the  United  States  Bank, 
which  vote  was  there  recorded  March  28th,  1834.  Judge  White 
contended  that  the  Senate  had  no  right  thus  to  destroy  the  records 
of  their  doings.  Upon  offering  an  amendment  which  would  call  for 
the  "  rescinding,  repealing,  reversing  and  declaring  null  and  void " 
of  the  resolution  censuring  General  Jackson,  instead  of  th-e  expung- 


ing 


it,  he  said : 


Mr.  President :  The  object  of  my  amendment  is,  to  enable  each  sena- 
tor to  express  the  opinion  he  really  entertains  of  the  resoljition  formerly 
passed  by  this  body. 

To  vote  for  the  resolution  of  the  senator  from  Missouri  in  its  present 
shape,  I  cannot.  He  proposes  to  "expunge"  from  our  journals  one  of 
our  resolutions,  which  was  adopted  when  our  votes  wfere  taken  and 
recorded  by  yeas  and  nays.  The  Constitution  requires  that  "  each  House 
shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceedings^  and  that  at  the  decision  of  one-ffth 
of  its  members^  the  yeas  and  nays  shall  le  taken  on  any  question.''''  This 
Constitution  each  member  has  solemnly  sworn  to  support.  When  we 
speak  of  the  journal  of  our  proceedings,  we'  speak  of  a  book  kept  here, 


EXPUNGING    RESOLUTION.  181 

under  our  oton  inspection,  in  which  is  faithfully  recorded,  under  its  appro- 
j^riate  date,  every  transaction  of  the  body.  This  book  is  the  original 
and  all  others  are  only  copies  of  it.  Now,  what  is  yjroposed  by  the 
resolution  ?  It  is  to  expunge  one  of  the  resolutions  which  we  all  admit 
we  actually  adopted,  upon  yeas  and  nays,  on  the  28th  of  March,  1834. 
Now  if  we  adopt  this  resolution,  we  solemnly  order  that  our  former 
resolution  shall  be  erased,  rubbed  out,  blotted,  obliterated,  or  so  corrected 
that  it  cannot  be  read.  Suppose  this  order  carried  into  effect,  and  any 
man  to  read  our  record,  our  journal,  under  date  of  the  28th  March,  and 
he  would  have  no  knowledge  that  such  a  resolution  as  that  complained 
of  had  ever  existed. 

The  answer  given  to  this  argument  by  the  honorable  senator  is  not 
satistactory.  He  says  in  his  resolution  now  under  consideration,  "  It  is 
preserved,  because  it  is  set  out  word  for  word."  But  it  is  not  under  its 
true  date ;  and  upon  that  principle,  if  we  wish  to  ascertain  what  was 
done  28th  March,  1834,  we  must  look  not  to  the  journal  of  that  year,  but 
to  the  journal  of  1835.  This  would  not  be  a  diary  or  journal  of  our 
proceedings  according  with  the  facts. 

Again,  what  would  become  of  our  yeas  and  nays  ?  Are  we  to  deprive 
ourselves,  those  of  oiir  own  day,  and  posterity,  of  all  means  of  knowing 
how  we  voted  ?  The  gentleman  does  not  propose  preserving  our  yeas 
and  nays.  I  do  not  wish  to  lose  mine,  nor  do  I  suppose  any  other  mem- 
ber wishes  to  give  up  this  record  evidence  of  his  opinion. 

It  appears  to  me  plain  that  we  cannot  vote  for  expunging  the  journal, 
because  it  is  contrary  to  the  positive  injunction  of  the  Constitution, 
which  we  are  bound  to  observe.  Adopt  my  amendment,  and  then  pass 
the  resolution,  and  we  accomplish  everything  desirable.  We  "rescind" 
and  declare  "  null  and  void  "  the  original  resolution.  This  is  all  that  can 
be  wished  by  any  person ;  we  reverse  our  decision  because  we  now  think  it 
was  wrong  ;  and  we  declare  it  null  and  void,  because  it  was  always  wrong, 
and  ought  never  to  have  been  adopted. 

This  is  the  effect  of  mj'  amendment  as  first  proposed  by  me ;  and  now 
at  the  instance  of  the  honorable  senator,  from  Pennsylvania  (Mr. 
McKean),  I  have  modified,  so  as  to  incorporate  into  it  t^ie  additional  words 
"  repealed  and  revei'sed."'  It  now  reads  that  the  resolution  of  28th  March 
is  "rescinded,  repealed,  reversed  and  declared  to  be  null  and  void." 
This,  it  appears  to  me,  is  as  strong  an  opinion  as  we  can  give,  that  the 
original  resolution  shall  not  stand  as  the  judgment  of  the  Senate,  and 
that  it  ought  never  to  have  found  a  place  upon  our  journals. 

Thus  far  I  am  Avilling  to  go,  because  it  conforms  to  the  opinion  I  now 
entertain,  and  to  the  opinion  I  entertained  when  the  original  resolution 
was  adopted. 

If  time  permitted,  I  would  gladly  say  more  on  this  subject ;  but  it  does 
not,  and  I  must  content  myself  with  expressing  a  hope  that  my,  amend- 


182  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

ment  may  be  adopted,  so  that  I  can  vote  for  the  resolution  without  a 
violation  of  one  of  my  most  solemn  obligations. 

The  question  was  quieted  for  that  session  by  means  of  a  motion  to 
lay  it  on  the  table.  Next  year  however,  under  the  indomitable  lead  of 
Benton,  it  was  started  again  ;  and  Judge,  White  defined  his  position 
upon  ifmore  at  length,  in  aspeech  delivered  June  28th,  1836,  as  follows: 

j  ,     .  ,    ,  . 

The  following  preamble  and  rfesolution  offered  by  Miv  White  being 
under  consideration : 

Whereas,  on  the  28th  day  of  March,  1S34,  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  adopted  a  resolu- 
tion in  the  words  following,  to  wit : . 

"  Resolved,  That  the  President,  in  the  late  executive  proceedings'  in  relation  to  the  public 
revenue,  has  assumed  upon  liiniself  authority  and  powers  not  conferred  by  the  Constitution 
and  laws,  but  in  derogation  of  both :" 

And  whereas,  upon  the  question  whether  said  resolution  shou'd  be  adopted,  it  was  decided  by 
one-fifth  of  the  senators  present  that  the  same  should  be  taken  by  yeas  and  nays;  and  tlie 
votes  of  tlie  several  members  now  stand  recorded  on  the  journal  of  the  Senate : 

And  whereas  the  said  resolution  still  remains  on  the  journal  of  the  Senate  in  full  force,  not 
Tescinded,  reversed,  repealed,  or  annulled;  and  cannot  now  be  ex^iunged,  cancelled,  or  in  any 
.way  obliterated  or  defaced  without  violating  that  clause  of  the  Constitution  of  the  UViited 
States  which  is  in  the  following  words,  to  wit:  "Each  house  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceed- 
ings, and  from  time  to  time  publish  the  same,  excepting  such  part  as  may  in  their  judgment 
require  secrecy ;  and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  either  house  on  any  question  shall,  at  the  desire  of 
one-fifth  of  those  present,  be  entered  on  the  journal :" 

And  whereas  each  senator,  before  taking  his  seat,  was  bound  to  take,  and  did  take,  an  oath 
to  support  said  Constitution : 

And  whereas  the  Presidenil  of  the  United  States,  in  the  late  executive  proceedings  in  relation 
to  the  public  revenue,  alluded  to  in  said  resolution,  did  not,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Senate 
assume  upon  himself  authority  and  powers  not  conferred  upon  him  by  the  Constitution  and 
laws :  Therefore,  it  is 

Resolved,  That  the  said  resolution,  and  the  opinion  therein  expressed,  be,  and  the  same 
hereby  are,  rescinded,  reversed,  and  annulled;  and  it  is  hereby  declared  that  the  said  resolu- 
tion ought  not  to  be  considered  as  having  had,  or  as  now  or  hereafter  having  any  force  or 
effect  whatever. 

Mr.  White  addressed  the  Senate  as  follows : 

Mr.  President :  By  means  not  within  my  control,  I  have  become  so  far 
connected  with  this  subject  as  to  consider  it  a  duty  to  submit  the  reso- 
lution now  under  consideration,  and  to  urge  its  adoption  by  such  reasons 
as  are  satisfactory  to  my  own  mind.  During  our  last  sessipn,-  the  honor- 
able senator  from  Missouri  offered  a  resolution,  proposing  that  we  should 
order  the  resolution  of  the  28th  Mtirch,  1834,  to  be  expunged  from  the 
journal.  WJien  it  was  taken  up  for  consideration,  entertaining  the 
opinion  that  the  Senate  had  not  the  power  to  make  such  an  order,  I 
moved  to  amend  the  resolution,  by  striding  out  the  order  to  expunge, 
and  all  which  followed  it,  and  inserting  that  the  resolution  should  be 


EXPUNGING    RESOLUTION.  183 

rescinded,  reversed,  repealed,  and  declared  to  be  null  and  void.  The 
senator  from  Alabama  moved  that  the  question  be  first  taken  on  striking 
out  the  word  "  expunge,"  and,  after  a  very  short  debate,  it  was  strickea 
out,  by  almost  a  unanimous  vote ;  and  then,  upon  the  motion  of  one  of 
the  senators  from  Massachusetts,  the  subject  was  laid  on  the  table/  At 
this  session  we  have  a  proposition,  which  is  now  on  the  table,  for  a 
qualified  or  limited  expunging.  StiU  believing  my  first  impressions  on 
the  subject  were  correct,  I  haVe  ventured  to  submit  my  resolution,  and 
upon  it  will  desire  the  decision  of  the  Senate. 

The  first  position  assumed  in  the  preamble  to  my  resolution  liable  to 
doubt  is,  that  we  have  not  the  power  to  expunge  fi'om  our  journal  the 
resolution  of  the  28th  March,  1834. 

Our  government  is  republ-ican,  and,  by  the  Constitution,  it  was  intended 
that  all  agents  in  the  different  departments  of  it  should  be  responsible  for 
their  public  conduct.  With  a  view  to  secure  this  accountability,  so  far  as 
the  two  Houses  of  Congress  are  concerned,  and  also  for  the  purpose  of 
perpetuating  a  knowledge  of  what  should  be  done  by  them,  it  is  provided 
by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  5th  section  of  the  Ist  article, 
that  "each  house  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceedings,  and  from  time  to 
time  publish  the  same,  excepting  such  parts  as  may,  in  their  judgment, 
require  secrecy ;  and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the  members  of  either  House, 
on  any  question,  shall,  at  the  desire  of  one-fifth  of  those  present,  b6 
entered  on  the  journal."  Generally,  that  interpretation  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, or  of  a  statute,  is  the  true  one,  which  would  be  put  upon  it  by  a 
common  mi  an.       , 

It  appears  to  me  very  clear  that  were  a  common  man  asked  what  did 
the  framers  of  the  Constitution  mean  should  be  done,  when  they  used  the 
language  just  quoted,  he  would  answer,  that  each  house  should  have 
faitlifully  recorded  the  proceedings  of  each  day,  and  carefully  preserve  the 
iooh  in  which  they  were  recorded.  To  determine  the  meaning  of  this 
word  "  ^eep,"  we  are  not  to  look  into  a  glossary  to  see  how  many  different 
definitions  we  can  find,  but  to  the  coiitextand  to  the  object  the  framers  of 
the  Constitution  wished  to  attain.  Each  house  is  directed  to  keep  a  jour- 
nal of  its  proceedings,  and  from  time  to  time  to  publish  the  same.  The 
object  evidently  is,  that  the  body  itself  may  at  all  times  know  what  it 
and  its  predecessors  have  done,  and  that  the  constituent  may  also  know 
what  has  been  done,  and  by  whom. — [Bayard''s  Exposition  of  the  Consti- 
tution^ p.  58.] 

If,  as  soon  as  we  have  recorded  our  daily  proceedings,  we  have  per- 
formed the  whole  duty  required  by  this  clause,  and  may  then  burn,  tear 
up,  obliterate,  or  expunge  the  journal,  the  whole  object  will  be  defeated. 
The  convention  were  aware  that  neither  house  would  be  always  in  ses- 
sion, and  that  when  in  session  the  members  themselves  could  not,  in 
person^  keep  the  journal ;  provision  is  therefoi-e  made  in  article  1,  sections 


184  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

2  and.  3,  that  each  house  shall  have  power  to  appoint  the  necessary 
officers.  Through  officers  thus  appointed  the  journal  is  kept  and  pre- 
served, as  the  records  of  courts  are  kept  and  preserved  by  their  clerks. 

"We  are  not  only  to  keep  the  journal,  but  fi'om  time  to  time  to  publish 
the  same.  The  journal  which  is  kept  is  the  one  which  is  to  be  published; 
not  once  only^  but  from  time  to  time.  If  we  admit  that  after  our  pro- 
ceedings have  been  once  2niMished.i  then  we  may  expunge,  how  shall  we 
comply  with  the  injunction  to  publish  from  time  to  time?  Those  to 
whom  the  printed  copies  have  been  delivered  are  under  no  constitutional 
obligation  to  preserve  their  copies.  They  may  be  destroyed  at  pleasure. 
Upon  their  care  we  must  depend  to  enable  us  to  publish  a  second  or  third 
edition ;  yet  we  have  been  directed  to  heep  and,  from  time  to  time^  pub- 
lish. Again,  if  we  do  publish  a  second  or  third  edition  from  our  own 
journal,  having  expunged  some  of  our  proceedings  immediately  after  the 
first  publication,  then  the  first  edition  and  the  subsequent  ones  will  not 
agree,  because  the  expunged  proceedings  will  not  appear  in  the  last  pub- 
lications, no  matter  whether  the  expunging  is  considered  literal  or  figur- 
ative. And  what  will  make  the  matter  worse  is,  there  will  be  no  record 
in  charge  of  our  own  officer,  by  which  to  prove  which  edition  is  a  true 
copy. 

The  provisions  In  the  Yth  section  of  the  same  article  Strongly  support 
the  construction  for  which  I  contend:. 

"Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  House  of  Representatives  and  the  Senate,  shall, 
before  It  become  ■a  law,  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the  United  States;  if  he  approve,  he 
shall  sign  it;  but  if  not,  he  shall  return  it,  with  his  objections,  to  that  house  in  which  it  shall  have 
originated,  who  shall  'enter  the  objections  at  large  on  their  journal,'  and  proceed  to  reconsi- 
der it.  If,  after  such  reconsideration,  two-thirds  of  that  house  shall'  agree  to  pass  the  bill,  it 
shall  be  sent,  together  with  the  objections,  to  the  other  house,  by  which  it  shall  likewise  be 
reconsidered  ;  and,  if  approved  by  two-thirds  of  that  house,  it  shall  become  a  law.  But  in  all 
such  cases,  the  'votes  of  both  houses  shall  be  determined  by  yeas  and  nays,  and  the  names  of 
the  persons  voting  for  and  against  the  bill  shall  be  entered  on  the  journal  of  each  house, 
respectively.'  If  any  bill  shall  not  be  returned  by  the  President  within  ten  days  (Sundays 
excepted)  after  it  shall  have  been  presented  to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a  law,  in  like  manner  as 
if  he  had  signed  it,  unless  the  Congress,  by  their  adjournment,  prevent  its  return  ;  in  which 
case,  it  shall  not  be  a  law." 

The  like  ceremonies  are  to  be  gone  through  in  relation  to  order,  reso- 
lutions, or  votes,  in  which  the  concurrence  of  both  Houses  is  necessary. 

Now,  sir,  is  any  gentleman  prepared  to  say,  that  in  any  case  arising 
under  this  section,  we  haVe  the  power  to  expunge  the  journal  ?  If  we 
cannot,  how  can  we  in  any  other  case  ?  The  language  requiring  us  to  ^eep 
a  journal  of  our  proceedings  is  as  strong  and  imperative  as  the  language 
in  this  section,  requiring  the  President's  objections  to  be  entered  on  the 
journal,  and  the  names  of  the  voters  to  be  recorded.  The  same  solemn 
guards  are  thrown  around  both :  and  if  we  now  have  the  power  to 
expungo  the  journal  of  March,  1834,  we  also  have  the  poAver  to  go  back 


EXPUNGING    RESOLUTION.  185 

and  expunge  from  the  journal  the  proceedings  in  relation  to-  any  veto  sent 
to  us  by  any  President. 

To  Iveep  a  journal  of  our  proceedings  must  mean  that  we  shall  have 
them  taitlifully  recorded,  and  then  the  record  ca,r(^ully  preserved  ;  other- 
■^ifise,  the  whole  context  is  disregarded,  and  the  great  object  of  responsi- 
bility of  legislative  agents  defeated.  Let  us,  for  a  moment,  consider  some 
of  the  taniiliar  cases  put  by  the  other  side. 

We  employ  a  man  "  to  Iceep  the  doory  After  he  has  opened  it,  and 
let  some  person  in  or  out  of  the  house,  surely  he  is  not  at  liberty  to 
break  the '  door. 

A  man  employs  a  person  to  keep  his  house.  After  the  house  is  pxit  in 
good  order,  the  \ioxi?<Q-Tceeper  is  not  at  liberty  to  break  or  burn  the  furni- 
ture, or  to  expunge  it,  by  making  black  marks  around  it. 

A  merchant  employs  a  person  to  keep  his  store  and  hooTcs.  After  the 
day's  or  week's  work  is  over,  the  clerk  is  not  at  liberty  to  tear  out  or 
expunge  any  of  the  entries,  showing  the  goods  sold,  or  the  cash  received  ; 
yet  all  these  things  might  lawfully  be  done  by  these  different  persons,  if 
the  arguments  in  favor  of  .expunging  our  journal  are  cofrect. 

It  luxs  been  sometimes  urged  tliat  each  house  has  a  discretion  as  to  the 
matter  that  sliall  be  put  on  its  journal.  This,  to  some  extent,  is  true,  but 
cannot  affect  my  argument.  Each  liouse  is  for  ever  bound  to  put  enough 
matter  on  the  journal  to  show  ou  what  subjects  it  acted,  and  the  decision 
of  the  body  on  each  subject. 

To  prove  this  discretionary  power,  it  is  said  we  may  select  for  publica- 
tion such  parts  of  the  journal  as  we  please,  and  keep  the  rest  secret. 

It  is  true,  by  the  clause  under  consideration,  each  house  \s  bound  to 
keep  a  journal  of  all  its  pi-oceedijigs,  but  may  refrain  from  having 
published  such  parts  as  the  public  interest  requii-es  should  be  Tcept 
secret. 

This  power  to  refrain  from  publishing  is  expressli/  given,  and  therefore 
may  be  legally  exercised.  It  is,  with  me,  conclusive  to  show  that  we  are 
bound  always  to  preserve  the  journal.  Parts  of  it  we  need  not  publish. 
Now,  if  we  are  not  bound  to  preserve  the  record  of  our  proceedings, 
there  would  be  no  evidence  in  existence  of  wliat  had  been  done  upon  those 
subjects  in  relation  to  which  the  journal  had  not  been  published. 

Again :  Ave  have  the  express  power  given  not  to  publish  some  parts  of 
our  proceedings ;  if,  in  addition  to  this,  we  assume  the  power  which  is 
not  given  to  expunge  what  Ave  please,  Ave"may,  and  probably  Avill,  some 
time  choose  not  to  publish  some  pcoceeding  which  would  not  be  accept- 
able to  our  constituents;  and  then,  after  it  had  performed  what  we 
intended,  we  could  ejtpunge  it,  and  thus  evade  all  that  responsibility 
intended  to  be  secured. 

It  is  said  the  journal  is  nothing  but  inducement  to  some  other  matter 
more  important.     This  opinion  I  do  not  tliiuk  is  Avell  fou'^ded     The 


186  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 


• 


journals,  so  far  froni^being  considered  as  merely  introductory,  or  indnce- 
nient  to  something  more  important,  and  tlierefore  in  our  power  to  dispose 
of  as  we  please,  ought  to  viewed  as  sacred^  because  they  contain  the  only 
evidence  oi  the  judgment  of  the  representatives  of  the  people  upon  th€ 
different  subjects  acted  on;  they  are  the  very  essence,  or,  as  the  lawyers 
^term  it,  the  gist  of  the  whole  matter. 

In  our  free  and  happy  country  our  laws  are  binding,  because  thej'^  coni 
tain  the  will  of  the^J^c^^^  themselves^  expressed  by  their  representatives, 
in  the  mode  pointed  out  in  the  Constitution.  The  journal  is  the  only 
evidence  of  this  will.  An  act  is  not  binding  because  it  is  signed  by  the 
presiding  officers  of  the  two  houses,  but  because  it  is  the  expressed  will 
of  a  majority  in  each  house;  and  the  journal  is  the  highest  evidence  of 
this  will.  At  the  last  session,  by  some  mistake,  a  bill,  wliich  our  journal 
ebowfe  was  indefinitely  postponed,' was  signed  by  the  presiding  officers 
and  by  this  President.  It  was  no  law,  although  it  had  the  form  of  one. 
It  wanted  the  essence^^ihe  tcill  of  a  majority  of  one  of  the  houses,  and 
i\iQ  journal  of  that  house  is  the  highest  and  only  evidence  of  the  defect. 
I,  therefore,  deny  that  we  have  any  power  to  expunge,  on  the  ground  that 
the  journal  is  mere  inducement'  to  something  more  important.  But, 
again  :  even  if  it  were  only  inducement,  I  deny,  on  that  account,  Ave  have 
any  power  to  disobey  a  command  of  the  Constitution.  It  sayS  we  shall 
keep  a  journal  of  our  proceedings.  "We  call  Heaven  to  witness  we  will 
obey  this  command.  In  consequence  of  this  solemn  promise,  Ave  are 
intrusted  with  matters  of  the  liighest  interest.  "We  have  faitlifully 
recorded  one  of  our  proceedings,  but  afterwards  tear  or  blot  it  out,  or 
expunge  it — that  is,  prick  it  out — and  are  called  upon  for  the  reason,  and 
answer,  it  was  of  no  consequence,  because  it  was  mere  inducement  to 
something  else.  The  excuse  ought  never  to  be  admitted  ;  if  it  is  in  one 
case,  it  may  be  in  every  case.  "We  may  obliterate,  expunge,  or  burn  the 
whole. 

It  is  further  urged,  if  the  whole  record  is  destroyed,  after  the  journal 
has  been  published,  it  makes  no  difference,  because  each  printed  copy 
is  the  journal. 

This  I  think  an  entire  mistake;  the  prin*ted  journal  is  only  a  copy  of  the 
original,  and,  although  it  may  be  adigitted  as  evidence  in  court,  it  is  only 
because  it  is  supposed  to  be  a,  true  copy  of  the  original,  as  it  has  been 
printed  by  public  authority;  and  because  you  cannot  procure  the  original, 
it  being  the  duty  of  the  secretary  to  keep  it  in  his  own  possession. 
'  The  original  is  the  best  evidence;  and  the  party  Ts  only  excused  from 
producing  it  because  he  cannot  procure  it.  Suppose  the  copy  offered  not 
a  true  one,  the  error  is  ahvays  corrected  by  having  recourse  to  the 
original. 

Again :  if  all  these  printed  copies  a»e  originals,  and  Ave  order  ihe 
journal  to  be  expunged,  we  must  make  our  secretary  apply  the  process 


EXPUNGING    RKSOLUTIONS.  187 

to  Rach  copy ;  if  lie  does  to  one,  and  not  to  all,  they  will  vary  from  each 
other;  and  if  we  apply  the  process  to  the  original,  and  not^to  the  priijted 
copies,  every  copy  Avill  vary  from  the  original. 

The  journal  of  1834  has  heen  published — many  copies  of  it — the 
obnoxious  resolution  with  the  rest.  Suppose  we  now  expunge  it,  actually 
or  figuratively,  and  then  publish  another  edition,  tlie  resolution  Avould 
not  appear  in  the  last  edition,  and  thus  it  would  vary  from  that  now  in 
existence. 

If  we  decide  that  the  'printed  copies  are  to  be  considered  as  the  origir 
nals,  aiKl  not  copies  merely^  it  appears  to  me  we  endanger  the  purity  of 
our  whole  proceedings.  It  will  be  very  easy  for  those  who  are  ingenious 
in  villany  to  print  with  our  mark  and  impose  on  the  world  spurious 
copies,  and  imert  as  our  proceedings  matters  Avhich  never  occurred. 

It  is  thought  we  err  in  giving  the  same  sanctity  to  onr  journal  which 
is  properly  given  to  the  records  of  courts  of  justice,  which,  it  is  admitted, 
cannot  be  expunged,  or  altered  after  the  term. 

In  my  o])inion,  our  journal  ought  to  be  considered  the  most  sacred  of 
the  two.  The  records  of  the  courts  only  affect  the  private  rights  of  indi- 
viduals; our  records  affect  all  society.  Eecords  of  courts  are  only 
required  to  be  kept  by  legislative  enactments;  the  records  of  each  house 
of  Congress  were  not  left  to  statutory  enactments,  but  are  required  to  be 
kept  by  the  Constitution  itself. 

Those  who  insist  that  we  have  the  power  to  expunge  seek  support  from 
precedents;  and  it  has  been  said  that  in  the  sixtli  year  of  the  reign  of 
Henry  VIII.  it  was  enacted  that  a  record  should  be  kept  of  the  leaves 
of  alsence  granted  to  different  memlers  of  the  Pariiament.  And  from 
this  it  is  argued  that  Parliament  was  bound  by  law  after  that  time  to  keep 
a  journal ;  and  if  they  expunged  any  of  their  proceedings,  so  may  we. 
To  this  I  answer,  that  the  expunging  of  any  entry  made  on  the  journal 
afteT  that  time,  on  any  other  siilject  than  that  of  giving  leave  of  absence 
to  a  member,  is  of  no  more  weight  than  if  such  a  statute  had  never 
been  enacted ;  and  gentlemen  have  not  produced,  and  I  do  not  believe 
they  can  produce,  a  case  in  which  either  Hoitse  expiinged  any  such 
entry. 

The  statute  did  not  require  a  record  to  be  made  of  anything  except  leave 
of  absen^e^  and  if  any  other  proceeding  was  recorded  ill  the  same  book, 
it  was  by  some  order  of  tlie  house ;  and  the  same  power  could,  at  any 
time,  order  it  to  be  expunged,  just  as  well  as  if  it  had  been  recorded  in 
any  other  book. 

Our  constitution  requires  that  we  shall  keep  a  journal  of  all  our  pro- 
ceedings ;  and  we  ought  to  preserve  the  whole  with  as  much  care  as  the 
Parliament  did  their  leaves  of  absence. 

By  -the  articles  of  confederation,  Congress  was  required  to  publish 
every  month  the  journal  of  their  proceedings ;  and  from  this  it  is  inferred 


188  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON     WHITE. 

they  were  bound  to  keep  a  journal  of  all  their  proceedings.  In  the  first 
place,  I  think  this  inference  very  far  from  imposing  the  same  obligation 
upon  the  old  Congress  that  is  imposed  on  ns  by  the  present  consideration, 
in  language  too  plain  to  be  niisunderstood.  In  the  next  place,  if  it  did, 
what  ofises  have  gentlemen  shown  of  any  matter  being  expunged  from 
their  journals  ?     None. 

It  were  a  useless  consi^mption  of  time  in  me  to  notice  in  detail  the  dif- 
ferent cases  cited,  to  show  that  the  journals  have  been  expunged  by  both 
Houses  in  Great  Britain,  under  the  Colonial  Govei-nment  in  Virginia,  and  in 
the  State  of  Massachusetts,  because  the  same  general  answer  may  be  given 
to  all.  The  legislature  Avas  not  required  by  either  a  constitution  or  a  law 
to.  k^ep  a  journal.  The  journal  Avas  only  kept  by  virtue  of  the  order  or 
usage  of  'feach  house,  and  could  be  changed  at  any  time,  to  any  extent 
either  house  might  think  right. 

But  a  precedent  has  been  referred  to  in  my  own  State,  and  there  the 
Constitution  docs  require  tliat  each  house  shall  l:ee])  a  journal. 

Gentlemen  who  rely  upon  this  precedent  have  been  misinformed.  They 
have  not  named  the  case,  but  I  can  be  at  no  loss'  as  to  what  the  reference 
is  made.  It  must  be  the  case  of  Judge  Williams,  who  was  impeached,  and 
tried;  and  to  convict,  the  Constitution  required  two-tMnh  of  the  mem- 
bers. "When  opinions  were  expressed,  there  were  tAvo-thirds  for  convic- 
tion, if  absent  members  were  not  counted ;  if  they  were,  there  were  not 
two-thirds.  Upon  this  point  there  was  a  great  variety  of  opinion,  and 
ultimately  the  presiding  member  discharged  tlie  judge  as  acquitted.  On 
the  next  morning,  when  the  journal  Avas  read,  a  member  moved  to  cor- 
rect it,  because  the  coui't  had  authorized  no  such  order.  This  motion,  it 
will  be  perceived,  was  in  a  corp-t,  therefore,  no  precedent  for  us. 

Next,  it  was  not  to  ex])unge  anything  which  the  Senate  had  done.,  but 
to  strii^e  from  the  journal  that  Avhich  had  been  put  there  by  mistake,  and 
which  the  body  never  had  ordered. 

Now,  sir,  if  ainj^n  Avere  set  to  search  'a  case  unlike  the  one  before  us,  he 
could  not  do  better  than  take  the  Tennessee  case. 

Two  precedents  have  been  referred  to  in  the  proceedings  of  Congress, 
upon  Avliich  I  Avill  make  one  or  two  remarks. 

On  the  last  day  of  the  session  of  1806,  tAvo  petitions  were  presented  by 
a  member  of  the  Senate,  complaining  of  the  conduct  of  one  of  our  courts ; 
they  Avere  received  by  the  body  and  disposed  of.  During  the  same  day  a 
member  mov^d  to  return  the  petitions,  and  to  expunge  the  order  for  their 
reception  from  the  journal,  which  Avas  done  accordingly. 

The  first  observation  I  make  is,  that  we  are  to  keep  a  journal  of  our 
proceedings.  In  other  words,  at  the  end  of  each  day  our  record  ouglit  to 
shoAV  the  result  of  our  judgment  upon  each  subject  before  us. 

The  journal  of  that  day  does  show  this  preciselj^.  After  the  entry  was 
expunged,  the  subject  of  those  memorials  was  placed  precisely  whei*e,  in 


EXPUNGING    RESOLUTIONS.  189 

thi)  Juflgment  of  that  body,  .it  ought  to  rest,  and  that  was,  that  Congress 
should  have  nothing  to  do  with  it. 

I  Avill  ilhistrato  my  meaning  by  a  familiar  case.  A  merchant,  in  the 
forenoon,  sells  a  bale  of  cloth  to  a  customer,  who  pays  liim  one  hundred  dol- 
lars for  it.  He  enters  the  transaction  on  his  journal.  In  the  afternoon, 
of  the  same  day,  the  customer  returns,  and  asks  the  merchant  to  take 
back  the  cloth  and  return  hitn  his  money;  with  which  request  he  com- 
plies, and,  instead  of  incumbering  his  journal  with  another  useless  entry, 
he  scratches  out,  or,  in  other  words,  expunges  the  entry  he  made  when  he 
sold  the  cloth.  After  this  expunging,  his  journal  will  show  the  exact 
ti>uth  relative  to  this  bale  of  cloth  ;  that  is,  it  will  give  no  account  what- 
ever of  the  transaction,  because  the  cloth  was  his  in  the  morning,  and  it 
is  still  his  the-  next  morning. 

''If  we  expunge  the  resolution  of  28th  March,  1834,  by  an  order  now 
made,  our  journal  of  that  day  will  be  so  altered  as  not  to  show  the  result 
of  the  Senate's  judgment  on  that  day  upon  that  subject;  therefore,  there 
is  no  likeness  in  the  two  cases. 

Again,  if  they  were  similar,  the  precedent  ought  to  have  no  weight 
whatever.  Tliere  was  no  time  for  either  discussion  or  deliberation.  Be- 
sides, this  was  done  in  high  part}'  times — related  to  an  exciting  topic — 
Burr's  conspiracy,  and  the  expunging  was  ordered  by  a  strictly  party 
vote. 

The  second  case  is  that  which  occurred  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
in  1822. 

Mr.  Randolph  announced  the  death  of  Mr.  Pinkney,  who  was  not- dead, 
and  for  that  reason  moved  an  adjournment.  The  adjournment  took  place, 
and  the  next  day  he  moved  that  the  reason  assigned  for  the  adjournment 
should  be  expunged,  because  it  was  not  true,  and  it  was  accordingly  ex- 
punged. In  this  case,  what  the  House  did  was  not  expunged.  It  had  in 
fact  adjourned^  and  so  the  journal  still  shows  ;  but  the  reason  why  they 
came  to  a  decision  to  adjdurn,  being  founded  in  mistake,  was  expianged. 

Now,  sir,  the  journal  at  this  moment  shows,  as  well  as  it  did  Avhen  the 
entry  Avas  made,  the  proceedings  oi  the  House  on  that  day;  and  all  the 
alteration  produced  is,  that  the  reason  for  one  of  their  acts  cannot  be 
known,  as  it  is  expunged. 

But  in  tlie  case  under  consideration,  to  expunge  would  be  to  destroy  all 
evidence  of  a  decision  itself^  for  which,  I  insist  we  have  no  precedent  in 
the  case  relied  on. 

The  tr\ith  must  be,  the  members  of  the  convention  were  well  aware  of 
all  the  precedents  inGreatBritain,  and  in  our  own  country,  which  existed 
when  they  framed  the  Constitution,  and  intended  to  leave  nothing  to  the 
discretion  of  either  house.  They  intended  effectually  to  secure  a  just  ac- 
countability from  the  representative  to  the  constituent ;  thereforethey  used 

the  Constitution  itself  the  imperative  language,  "each  house  shall  keep 


190  IIEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

-  a  journal,"  &c.  Let  us  not,  then,  be  misled  by  precedents  which  we  fancy 
may  bear  ns  out.  At  best  they  are  nothing,  but  "crutches  on  which 
weak  minds  sustain  themselves"  ;  and  if  we  are  sustained  by  these  prece- 
dents in  expunging  the  resolution  of  1834,  the  precedent  which  we  will 
noAV  make  may  sustain  those  who  come  after  us,  in  expunging  important 
principles  from  the  Constitution  itself. 

It  is  urged  that  the  mere  act  of  expungipg  the  journal  is  not  a  matter 
of  any  importance ;  Jt  is  the  effect  or  moral  of  the  resolution  which  it  is 
desired  to  remove. 

yf\\j  not  adopt  my  resolution,  then?  ISTo  man<;an  doubt  our  power  to 
rescind,  repeal,  and  reverse  the  resolution.  •  • 

The  bad  moral  taught  by  tlie  resolution  will  be  removed  by  the  subse- 
quent decision  pronouncing  the  forn^r  one  to  be  erroneous.  But  it  is 
thought  best  to  use  the  word  "expunge,"  as,  by  the  use  of  that  word  in 
parliamentary  pi'oceedings,  the  principles  of  civil  liberty  have  been  maiii- 
tained  in  other  countries. 

If  it  has  been  always  used  for  wise  and  good  purposes  elsewherej  let  113 
be  cautious  that  we  do  not  so  use  it  as  eventually  to  produce  mischief  in 
this,  the  most  free  and  favored  country  in  the  world. 

It  appears  to  me,  however,  that  this  word,  like  everything  else  over 
•yvhich  we  have  control,  has  been  sometimes  used  when  correct  principles 
were  asserted,  and,  in  other  instances,  when  the  reverse  was  the  case. 

When  King  James  entered  one  of  the  houses  of  the  Bi'itish  Parliament, 
and  with  his  own  hand  expimged  tlie  journal;  when  the  House  of  Lords 
expunged  the  recognizance  entered  into  before  the  Lord  Mayor  of  London, 
and  when  the  journals  of  the  Virginia  Legislature  were  expunged,  or  at- 
tempted to  be  expunged,  during  the  Colonial  government,  it  was  not  the 
watchword  of  the  friends  of  liberty.  I  am  not  aware  that  it  ever  has 
been  used,  and  I  fear  it  never  will  be  used,  in  aid  of  civil  liberty,  or  the 
rights  of  man,  when  the  process  is  resorted  to  to  gratify  th&  feelings  of 
those  in  ])ower^  who  are  generally  too  prone  to  believe  liberty  is  attacked 
whenever  any  portion  of  their  conduct  is  disapproved,  or  there  is  any 
attempt  to  impose  restraints  on  their  liberty  to  do  as  they  imagine  is 
most  for  the  public  good. 

Mr.  President,  I  propose  in  the  next  place  to  examine  the  soundness  of 
the  reason  assigned  why  we  may,  and  ought,  to  expunge.. 

It  is  briefly  this  :  tliat,  as  the  Senate  is*  the  tribunal  established  by  the 
Constitution  to  try  the  President  when  impeached,  it  is  unconstitutional 
to  pass  a  resolution  which  charges  him  with  a  crime  for  which  he  might 
be  impeached,  and  that  this  resolution  not  only  charges,  but  convicts  him 
of  a  crime.  I  do  not  concur  in  this  opinion,  and  beg  leave  to  assign  my 
reasons  for  dissenting  from  it. 

Under  the  Constitution,  the  powers  of  the  Senate  are  judicial,  executive, 
or  legislative;  judicial,  when  tiding  impeachments;  executive,  when 


EXPUNGING    RESOLUTIONS.  181 

advisinf^  the  President  in  rehation  to  treaties,  or  as  to  the  persons  to  be 
ai)pointed  to  office;  legi.^lative,  in  making  laws,  and  in  Everything  con- 
nected with  making,  amending,  or  repealing  them.  (Constitution  U.  S. 
art.  1,  sect.  1.) 

Tha  power  of  the  Senate  in  all  legislative  matters,  is  equal  to  that  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  in  all  respects,  Avith  the  single  exception 
that  bills  to  raise  revenue  must  originate  in  the  House.  In  the  discharge 
of  any  legislatiYe  oa  executive  duty,  any  individual  member  may  say  ia 
his  place  that  the  President,  or  an^  other  civil  officer,  has  assumed  powers 
not  conferred  upon  him  by  the  Constitution  or  laws. 

What  any  one  may  lawfully  say,  every  other  may  say  with  equal  pro- 
priety. "What  anyone  or  all  may  say,  individually,  all,  or  a  majority, 
may  with  propriety  express  by  way  of  resolution,  which  is  nothing  bat 
an  expression  of  the  opinion  of  a  majority  on  a  given  subject. 

TJie  objection  to  this  resolution  is,  that  it  charges  the  President  -svith, 
and  convicts  him  of,  a  crime,  for  which  he  may  be  impeached  by  the 
House ;  and  in  that  case  it  would  be  the  duty  of  the  Senate  to  try  him ; 
therefore,  it  was  unconstitutional  to  adopt  the  resolution. 

To  this  I  answer,  first,  if  it  were  an  unconstitutional  act  to  pass  the 
resolution,  it  furnishes  no  reason  why  it  should  be  expunged.  If  it  did, 
we  might  go  back  and  expunge  from  the  journal  everything  which  .had 
been  done  by  political  opponents,  fronj  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution, 
which  we  chose  to  say  was  unconstitutional — all  entries,  relative  to  the 
alien  and  sedition  laws,  chartering  the  banks,  &c.  These  entries,  which 
"we  deem  violations  of  the  Constitution,  of  all  others,  ai-e  the  ones  we 
ought  to  desire  should  staad.  By  them,  the  disgrace  of  political  oppon- 
ents would  be  perpetuated.  "Were  I  one  of  a  majority  who  voted  for  such 
unconstitutional  proceedings,  I  would  feel  very  grateful  to  opponents  who 
would  wipe  out,  or  expunge^  the  evidence  of  my  disgrace  so  soon  as  they 
obtained  the  power. 
But  again:  we  find  in  the  Constitution,  1st  art.  Sd^sect.  these  words  : 

"  Judgment  in  cases  oyrapeachment  shall  not  extend  further  than  to  remoral  from  otfice, 
and  to  disqualification  to  hold  and  enjoy  any  office  of  honor,  trust,  or  profit,  under  the  United 
States ;  but  the  party  convicted  shall,  nevertheless,  be  liable  and  subject  to  indictment,  trial, 
judgment,  and  punishment,  according  to  law."  t    ■  *j 

And,  in  art.  2,  sect.  4,  the  language  following: 

"The  President,  Vice-President,  and  all  civil  officers  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  removed 
from  office  oh  impeachment  for,  and  conviction  of,  treason,  bribery,  or  other  high  crimes  and 
misdemeanors." 

To  my  mind  it  is  very  clear  that  neither  the  President,  nor  any  other 
civil  officer,  can  be  impeached,  unless  he  is  charged  with  some  crime. 
The  question  then  is,  does  the  resolution  of  the  28th  of  March,  1834, 


192  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

charge  the  President  with  the  commission  of  a  crime  ?  It  is  in  these 
words : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  President,  in  the  late  executive  proceedings  in  relation  to  the  public 
revenue,  lias  assumed  upon  himself  authority  and  powers  not  conferred  by  the  Constitution  and 
laws,  but  in  derogation  of  both." 

It  is  with  this  resolution,  and  this  only^  we  have  to  deal.  As  to  what 
the  bank  or  its  agents  had  said  or  done,  or  as  to  the  arguments  or  speeches 
of  gentlemen,  the  Senate' has  given' no  opinion;  and  upon  the'question 
now  pending,  we  have  nothing  to  do  with  them. 

I  affirm  that  this  resolution  does  not  impute  to  the  President  any  crime 
or  misdemeanor  whatever.  There  -can  be  no  such  thing  as  a  crime,  with- 
out a  5a^' motive.  The  resolution  is  entirely  silent  as  to  the  motwes  by 
which  the  Chief  Magistrate  was  governed.  It  therefore  charges  nothing 
but  mere  error  of  judgment.  It  alleges  he  assumed  powers  not  conferred 
by  the  Constitution  or  laws ;  but  whether  the  motives  which  induced 
him  id  assume  these  powers  were  virtuous,  or  the  reverse,  is  not  stated. 
If  they  were  to  promote  the  public  good,  and  he  honestly  believed  the 
powers  he  assumed  had  been  conferred,  although  he  might  be  mistaken, 
yet  he  ought  to  be  applauded  as  a  patriot,  instead  of  being  censured  as  a 
criminal. 

Jntention  to  do  wrong — lad  motives — are  tlie  essence  of  crime ;  and 
without  them  there  can  be  no  such  thing.  In  this  very  case,  if,  in  every 
act  the  President  did,  he  mistook  his  powers,  but  still  acted  from  high 
and  pure  motives,  no  honest  tribunal  upon  earth  could  convict  him  of 
crime. 

■  This  new  doctrine  of  crime  without  evil  intent  has  no  sanction  in 
morals,  in  reason,  or  in  any  adjudged  case.  The  only  cases  referred  to 
for  its  support  are  the  impeachments  against  Judges  Chase  and  Pickering. 
In  the  first  of  thesCj  it  is  true,  som^  of  the  articles  of  impeachment  did 
not  charge  bad  motives,  but  upon  those  he  Mv&i  acquitted  without  a  dis- 
senting voice. 

In  Pickering's  c'ase,  the  question  was  whether  he  was  sane  or  not.  He 
had  been  a  highly  respectable  man,  but  acted  badly  on  the  bench,  and  it 
was  alleged  he  was  deranged.  It  was  answered,  if  ho  was  deranged,  it 
was  from  intemperance,  and  tlterefore  an  aggravation  of  the  offence ;  and 
on  that  ground  he  was  convicted. 

God  tbt'bid  that  a  doctrine  so  unreasonable,  so  inconsistent  with  our 
imperfect  condition,  as  that  of  crime  without  evil  design,  should  ever  be 
sanctioned  anywhere,  especially  here.  You  and  I  are  obliged  to  act  in 
this  very  question ;  it  is  our  public  duty  to  form  opinions,  and  act  upon 
them ;  we  disagree ;  must  one  of  us  be  guilty  of  a  crime  ?  Look  at  tlie 
Bituation  of  courts^  A  cause  is  tried  before,  two  judges  in  aij  inferior 
court,  and  they  disagree ;  must  one  be  a  orimin"al  ?    A  writ  of  error  is 


EXPUNGING    RESOLUTIONS.  193 

taken  fi'om  an  inferior  to  a  higher  tribunal,  and  the  judgment  reversed; 
are  the  judges  of  the  court  to  be  viewed  and  treated  as  criminals  ?  If  they 
are,  suppose  there  to  be  a  still  higher  tribunal,  to  which  the  same  cause 
is  carried,  and  the  last  decision  reversed,  and  the  first  established;  what 
are  you  to  do  then — punish  the  second  set  of  judges? 

In  the  federal  circuit  courts,  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  and  the 
district  judge  decide  a  cause;  a  writ  of  error  is  taken  to  the  Supreme 
Court,  where  the  same  judge  forms  one  of  the  court,  and  he  concurs  with 
his  ^brethren  in  reversing  his  own  decision.  What  is  to  be  done  with 
him.?  According  to  this  strange  doctrine,  he  is  obliged  to  be  guilty  of  a 
crime,  because  he  has  decided  against  himself.  Away  with  such  doctrine, 
it  is  absurd.  Ea-ror  and  crime  are  as  distinct  as  the  motives  by  which 
angels  and  devils  are  governed. 

The  great  error  in  the  argument  on  the  other  side  is  occasioned  by  not 
attending  to  the  distinction  between  the  acts  of  private  citizens  and  of 
puMic  officers.  A  private  individual  does  an  unlawful  act;  the  law 
presumes  he  did  it  from  bad  motives ;  because,  so  far  from  being  com- 
pelled to  act,  it  was  his  duty  not  to  aet.  In  the  case  of  a  public  officer, 
he  is  compelled  to  act ;  he  is  stoorn  to  do  so  ;  and  whenever  he  does  an 
official  act,  the  presumption  is,  that  his  motives  were  good^  although  the 
act  may  have  been  contrary  to  law.  If  the  law  were  not  so,  no  honest 
man,  conscious  of  his  defects,  would  ever  fill  an  office.  He  is  bound  to 
act — sworn  to  do  ^o  ;  and  when  he  Uses  all  the  means  within  his  reach  to 
inform  himself,  and  exercises  his  best  judgment,  he  is  innocent,  whether 
liis  acts  are  lawful  or  the  reverse.  This  distinction  between  the  acts  of 
individuals  and  of  public  officers  runs  through  all  the  cases  which  can  be 
found  in  our  books.  The  acts  spoken  of  in  the  resolution  as  assumptions 
of  power  in  derogation  of  the  Constitution  and  law,  were  acts  done  by 
the  President  in  his  official  capacity ;  therefore,  the  resolution  imputes  to 
him  no  criminality  whatever. 

The  Senate  unanimously  adopted  a  resolution  against  the  late  Post- 
mastei'-General,  condemning  son\e  of  his  acts  as  unlawful ;  but  it  charges 
him  Avith  no  crime.  If  error  is  hereafter  to  constitute  crime  in  our  public 
officers,  I  should  like  to  know  who  is  to  be  judge.  Who  feels  that  he  has 
the  infallible  standard  ?  If  any  one  wUl  say  "I  have  it,"  my  word  for  it, 
if  you  will  cultivate  his  acquaintance,  you  will  soon  find  he  wants  the 
common  requisites,  integrity  and  talents,  essential  to  constitute  a  tolerable 
judge. 

If  we- expunge  the  journal,  then  we  will  have  established  the  doctrine 
that,  in  every  case,  a  President,  or  any  other  civil  officer,  may  assume 
authority  and  powers  not  conferred  by  tlae  Constitution  and  laws,  but  in 
derogation  of  both,  and  we  dare  not  say  tiiat  is  our  opinion.  Against 
such  a  doctrine  I  enter  my  protest.  We  not  only  have  the  power,  but  it 
is  our  duty  to  exercise  it  whenever  such  a  case  occurs.     Suppose  the 

13 


194  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

President  to  nominate  for  some  office  a  man  who  already  holds 'the  office 
of  governor  or  judge,  I  surely  would  have  a  right  to  say  I  will  not  vote 
for  him,  hecause  I  think  he  has,  in  the  office  he  now  holds,  assumed 
powers  he  did  not  possess,  and  therefore  I  will  not  trust  him  farther. 

After  having  said  so,  if  he  is  impeached,  I  cannot  be  Challenged  and 
excluded  from'  sitting  as  one  of  his  triei-s.  I  have  charged  him  with 
no  crime ;  and,  having  given  an  opinion  that  his  conduct  was  unlawful, 
does  not  disqualify  me.  If  this  were  so,  we  must  reverse  the  whole 
order  of  things;  and  whenever  a  judge  is  caJled  on  to  decide  a  cause 
similij,r  to  one  he  had  before  decided,-  we  must  exclude  him,  and  appoint 
some  other ;  whereas  the  common  impression  has  ever  been,  tliat  the 
judge  is  the  better  qualified  for  having  examined  and  previously  decided 
the  same  or  a  similar  question. 

'  In  England  a  peer  cannot  be  challenged  because  he  has  previously  given 
an  opinion ;  nor  can  a  Senator  here.  They  are  judges,  having  a  right  to 
decide  the  law  as  Avell  as  the  facts  of  the  case. 

But  the  Senate  heretofore  attempted  to  exercise  this  very  power  in  the 
case  of  the  Panama  nominations.  '  Mr.  Adams  (I  beg  pardon,  ihe  late 
President),  in  his  message,  told  us  he  had  the  power  to  have  sent  ministers 
without  consulting  the  Senate ;  but,  as  they  were  soon  to  be  in  session,  he 
thought  it  best  to  delay  the  appointments,  and  consult  them.  A  resolu- 
tion-was submitted  denying  this  claimed  power,  and  a  long  discussion 
'ensued.  If  we  contested  this  claimed  but  unexerted  power,  can  any  one 
doubt  but,  if  it  had  been  exercised,  we  would  have  denied  it  by  a  resolu- 
tion if  we -could  ?  For  one,  I  never  doubted  but  the  President  honestly 
entei'tained  the  opinion  expressed. 

The  subject' of  removing  tJie  deposits  had  been  regularly  brought  before 
the  Senate  by  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  It  was  one  on 
which  we  had  a  right  to  legislate.  We  had  a  right  to  know  why  it  was 
done,  and  how  it  was  done,  to  either  approve  or  disapprove  ;  to  legislate 
upon  it:  to  direct  the  money  to  be  returned,  or  to  be  kept  any  where  else; 
"in  short,  to  approve  or  disapprove  what  had  been  done. 

"We  could  have  thanked  the  executive  for  his  prompt  attention'  to  the 
public  interest ;  for  his  efficiency  in  displacing  one  Secretary,  who  would 
Bot  remove  the  money,  and  appointing  another  who  would.  Why,  then, 
had  ■  the  Senate  no  power  to  sp,y  that,  in  doing  these  things,  he  trans- 
cended his  power?  To  me  it  appears theyhad  constitutionally  the  power 
to  pass  the  resolution.  But  it  tlien  was,  and  yet  is,  ray  opinion  tiiat,  in 
exercising  this  power,  the  Senate  themselves  erred' when  they  resolved 
tliat  he  "had  assumed  powers  not  conferred.  I  believed  he  had  the  power 
to  remove  the  Secretary,  and  to  do  every  other  act  then  attributed  to 
him,  if  he  believed  a  proper  case  was  made  out  for  its  exereise.  Am  I 
to  be  told  by  Senators  who  voted  for  the  resolution  that  I  committed  a 
erime  when  I  voted  against  them  ?  I  hope  not.    Nor  am  I  at  Kberty  to 


tXPUNGrNG    RESOLUTIONS'.  195 

say  they  conTraitted  a  crime  when  they  disagreed  in  opinion  with  me. 
This  is  everything  the  resolution  charges  tlie  President  with.  He  thought 
he  had  the  power  which  he  exercised ;  a  majority  of  the  Senate  thought 
he  had  not,  and  so  expressed  themselves  in  the  resolution,  not  question- 
ing the  purity  of  the  motives  from  which  he  acted.  By  doing  so  they 
did  not  assume  any  power  not  conferred  on  them  by  the  Constitution. 

In  Great  Britain  the  House  of  Lords  acts  as  a  court.  A  writ  of  errors 
lies  there  to  remove  a  cause  from  the  Court  of  King's  Bench.  Suppose  a 
cause  thiis  removed,  and  the  judgment  reversed,  because  the  judges  had 
assumed  powers  they  did  not  possess ;  if  they  were  afterwards  impeached 
for  so  deciding,  because  they  were  bribed,  could  not  the  peers  try  the  im- 
peachment ?  Undoubtedly  they  could.  I  cannot  vote  to  expunge  or  deface 
our  journal,  because  I  think  the  Constitution  forbids  it.  I  cannot  assign 
as  a  reason  for  either  expunging  or  rescinding  the  resolution  that  the 
Senate  had  no  power  to  adopt  it,  because  I  do  not  think  so  ;  and  because 
I  think  it  of  the  last  importance  we  should  retain  with  the  Senate  those 
powers  vested  in  it  for  high  and  important  purposes,  and  which  are,  or 
may  be,  essential  to  preserve  the  liberty  of  the  people ;  but  most  willingly 
can  I  vote  to  rescind,  reverse,  and  repeal  the  resolution ;  because  I  think 
that  the  Senate  erred  in  adopting  it.  To  say  the  least,  there  are  doubts 
of  our  power  to  expunge  :  and  no  one,  I  think,  ought  to  ibe  certain  the 
Senate  had  no  power  to  adopt  the  resohition.  Why,  then,  shall  we  cling 
to  the  word  "  expunge,"  and  to  this  reason^  when  there  is  a  plain  course 
to  pursue,  in  which  what  is  due  to  the  Chief  Magistrate  and  to  ourselves 
can  be  accomplished.  To  me,  .the  reason  is  obvious.  To  expunge  has 
become  an  executive  measure.  It  is  now  the  watchword  of  a  party ;  and, 
by  its  use,  those  are  to  be  hunted  down  who  will  not  conform  to  the 
will  of  the  party.  In  March,  1834,  when  the  resolution  was  adopted,  a 
majority  of  the  Senate  wae  opposed  to  the  Chief  Magistrate.  His  long 
and  valuable  services  have  endeared  him  to  the  American  people.  They 
are  sensitive  as  to  everything  which  can  affect  his  reputation  as  a  man  or 
as  an  officer. 

*My  opinion  had  been  expressed,  and  was  well  known;  I  believe  it  con- 
forms to  the  opinion  of  my  State  and  its  legislature  ;  and  I  hold  myself 
especially  bound  to  endeavor  to  have  it  effected  by  the  adoption  of  the 
resolution  which  I  have  submitted.  Those  who  believe  that  either  I  or 
the  people  cff  my  State  are  opponents  of  the  Administration,  mistake  our 
character.  Our  politics  are  as  they  have  been ;  we  now  stand  on  the 
twme  ground.^  advocate  the  same  principles  we  did  in  1828,  when  sustain- 
ing General  Jackson  to  bring  him  into  power.  But  we  are  the  slave  of  no 
man ;  and  when  it  is  attempted  to  ingraft  on  our  principles  a  system 
which  does  not  belong  to  them,  I  will  not  yield  my  assent,  be  the  conse- 
quences what  they  may.  My  wish  is  to  rescind,  reverse,  and  repeal  thfe 
resolution  of  183-i,  because,  in  my  judgment,  it  is  erroneous^  and  because 


196  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

I  believe  such  is  tlie  judgment  of  my  State.  To  vote  to  expunge  it,  I 
cannot ;  because,  Jn  my  opinion,  the  Constitution  forbids  it ;  and,  anxi- 
ous as  my  constituents  are  to  vindicate  the  character  of  the  Chief  Magis- 
trate, they  will  never  require  me  to  do  so  at  the  expense  of  that  sacred 
instrument,  which  we  are  all  under  the  most  high  and  most  solemn  obli- 
gations to  maintain  inviolate. 

The  olijections  thus  made  were  ultimately  evaded  by  so  wording 
the  resolution  as  to  make  it  define  the  mode  of  performing  the  pro- 
posed operation  ;  and  after  a  desperate  resistance  by  the  opposition, 
which  at  last,  in  the  words  of  Mr.  Webster,  as  recorded  by  Mr.  Ben- 
ton in  his  "  Thirty  Years'  View,"  had  "  degenerated  into  a  question,  of 
nerves  and  muscles,"  the  expunging  resolution  was  passed,  March  1 6th 
1837.  Upon  that  day  the  secretary,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate, 
produced  the  original  journal,  and  (in  the  words  of  the  resolution) 
"  having  drawn  a  square  of  broad,  black  lines  around  the  '  obnoxious 
censuring  resolution,'  wrote  across  its  face  in  strong  letters  these 
words:  '  Expunged  by  order  of  the  Senate,  this  16th  day  of  March, 
1837.'" 


CHAPTER    XI. 

SEITATORIAL    CAREER ABOLITION PUBLIC    LAND    DISTRIBUTION — SUB- 
TREASURY — TARIFF DEMEANOR BUSINESS    HABITS SURNAME. 

Upon  the  disturbing  question  of  slavery,  which  has  since  grown 
so  portentously  in  importance,  Judge  White's  sentiments  were  loyal 
to  those  of  his  native  State,  and  were  characterized  by  the  solidity 
and  prudence  which  were  such  important  elements  in  his  character. 
These  sentiments  he  expressed  March  2d,  1836,  upon  occasion  of  the 
presentation  of  one  of  the  petitions  then  so  frequently  presented  by 
feome  northern  members  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  within  the  Dis-* 
trict  of  Columbia.     Upon  that  occasion  he  spoke  as  follows  : 

Mr.  Pxesident:  I  address  you  under  the  solemn  conviction  that  if 
this  government  is  to  continue  to  accomplish,  the  great  purposes  for 
which  it  was  established,  it  can  only  be,  by  administering  it  in  the  same 
spirit  in  which  it  was  created. 

"When  tlie  Constitution  was  framed,  the  great  and  leading  interests  of 
the  whole  country  were  considered,  and  in  the  spirit  of  liberality  and 
compromise  we're  adjusted  and  settled. 

They  were  settled  upon  principles  that  ought  to  remain  undisturbed 
so  long  as  the  Constitution  lasts,  which  I  hope  will  be  for  ever ;  for 
although  liberty  may  be  preferable  to  the  Union,  yet  I  think  the  Union 
is  indispensable  to  the  security  of  liberty.  At  the  formation  of  the 
Constitution,  slavery  existed  in  many  of  the  States ;  it  was  one  of  the 
prominent  interests  that  was  then  settled.  It,  in  all  its  domestic  bear- 
ings, was  left,  exclusively  to  the  respective  States,  to  do  with,  as  they 
might  think  best,  without  any  interference  on  the  part  of  the  federal 
government.  This,  it  is  admitted,  by  every  gentleman  who  has 
addressed  you,  is  now  the  case,  in  every  slaveholding  State ;  therefore, 
it  is  only  urged  that  Congress  has  the  powder  to  abolish  slavery  in  the 
District  of  Columbia.  It  should  never  be  forgotten  that  when  the  Con- 
stitution "was  formed  and  adopted,  what  is  now  the  District  of  Columbia, 
was  then  comprehended  within  two  of  the  slaveholding  States,  Mary- 
land and  Virginia. 

197 


198  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

Suppose  when  all  the  details  of  the  Constitution  had  been  adjusted,  it 
had  been  foreseen,  that  the  District  of  Columbia  would  be  formed  out  of 
a  tract  of  country  ceded  by  those  States,  and  situated  in  the  centre 
between  them,  it  had  been  asked  of  the  members  of  the  convention, 
what  do  you  intend  as  to  the  district  ?  You  have  placed  the  question  of 
slavery  in  the  States,  entirely  under  their  control  within  their  respective 
limits,  do  you  intend  that  Congress  shall  have  the  power  "to  abolish 
slavery  in  the  district  ?  "Would  not  every  man  have  answered  in  the 
negative  ?  ' 

It  has  been  said  that  when  petitions  to  abolish  .slavery  are  presented 
to  either  House  of  Congress,  those  who_  demand  the  question  whether 
they  shall  be  received,  and  thus  produce  discussion,  are  agitators,  &nd 
produce  excitement  on  this  delicate  siibject.  To  me  it  seems  this  is 
unfair.  Let  us  for  a  moment  consider  the  circumstances  of  the  country, 
and  the  situation  in  which  we  are  allpleced. 

There  are  twenty-four  States,  several  Territories,  and  this  District. 
Thirteen  of  these  States  have  no  slaves,  the  other  eleven  have  slaves ; 
in  fact,  their  slaves  constitute  a  large  item  of  all  the  property  they  own. 
During  the  past  year,  it  has  so  happened,  that  many  newspapers, 
pamphlets,  and.  pictorial  representations  made  their  appearance,  and 
through  the  mail,  and  by  other  means,  extensively  circulated  in  the 
slaveholding  States.  By  these  means,  a  spirit  of  discontent  was  -created, 
which  occasioned  much  excitement  and  disorder  in  various  places,  and 
rendered  it  necessary,  in  a  summary  manner,  to  put  to  death  sevei'al 
white  persons,  and  a  number  of  slaves.  In  various  quarters  of  the 
Union  there  were  assemblages  of  people,  who  exj^ressed  their  opinions 
with  great  freedom.  In  the  course  of  the  fall  and  winter,  many  of  the 
State  Legislatures  have  been  in  session — they  have  been  addressed  on 
this  subject  by  their  respective  governors.  They  have  expressed  pub- 
licly their  opinions — the  President,  in  his  taessage,  has  invited  the 
attention  of  Congress  to  it — the  Senate  has  referred  that  part  of  the 
message  to  a  special  committee,  which  has  made  a  lengthy  report, 
acconapanied  by  a  bill,  whicli  is  now  upon  our  docket,  and  must,  in  due 
course,  be  discussed,  and  either  passed  or  rejected.  Are  all  these  to  be 
called  agitOttors,  and  charged  with  unnecessarily  producing  excitement  ? 
If  not,  how  is  it  that  members  of  Congress,  are  to  be  thus  charged  when 
petitions  are  presented. tliat  we  must  in  some  mode  dispos-e  of?  Each 
of  us  must  suggest  such  mode  as  we  think  most '  correct,  and  none  can 
justly  be  liable  to  any  such  charge.  If  there  is  any  wrong,  it  is  found  in 
those,'  who,  in  such  a  state  of  public  feeling,  will  press  their  petitions 
upon  us.  The  petitions  are  forw,arded  to  members  who  feel  it  their 
duty  to  present  them;  \»hen  presented,  others  tliink  it . their,  duty  to 
demand  the  question  whether  they  shall  be  received.  Is  it  true  that  on 
this  delicate  subject,  every  officer  of  the  federal  or  St^te  government, 


ABOLITION    PETITIONS.  •  199 

can  express  his  opinion;  as  to  what,  it  is  best  to  do,  and  that  a  senator 
.dare  not  express  liis  opinion  without  being  liable  to  censure?    I  hope  not. 

This  is  a  delicate  subject :  would  to  God  it  had  not  been  pressed  upon 
us ;  but  as  it  is  placed  b^re  by  the  petitioners,  we  must  dispose  of  iti 
To  enable  ns  to  do  so,  we  must  think  upon  it,  and  we  may  tell  each 
other  what  we  think,  and  our  reasons  for  so  thinking. 

It  is  not  by  speaking  upon  it  we  will  be  likely  to  do  mischief.  Every- 
thing depends  upon  the  Umper  with  which  we  express  our  opinions,  and 
the  sentiments  we  advance.  My  wish  and  aim  is,  if  I  can  do  no  good,  to 
do  no  harm,  and  if  I  believed  in  what  I  ^propose  to  say,  I  would  utter  a 
sentiment  from  which  mischief  would  be  produced,  I  would  close  my 
lips,  take  my  seat,  and  content  myself  with  yea  or  nay,  to  every  question 
proposed  by  others,  leaving  every  person  at  liberty  to  coiijecture  the 
reasons  for  my  votes ;  but  entertaining  no  fear  of  that  kind,  I  mtist  ask 
permission  to  state,  as  briefly  as  I  can,  some  of  the  reasons  for  the  course 
^  shall  pursue. 

In  doing  this,  I  shall  not  address  myself  to  senators  coming  fi;ora 
either  the  East,  or  the  West,  the  North,  or  the  South,  in  particular,  but 
to  the  Senate,  the  whole  Senate,  becanse  if  it  is  desired,  as  I  believe  -it  is, 
that  we  should  remain  together  as  one  people^  secure,  prosperous,  happy 
and  contented,  the  whole  courrtry,  every  section  of  it  has  a  deep  interest 
ifi  this  matter,  this  agitation  and  excitement  must  cease. 

"What  then  ought  we  to  do,  as  most  Hkely  to  put  an  end  to  those 
angry  feelings  which  now  prevail. 

In  my  opinion,  we  should  refuse  to  receive  these  petitions.  It 'is  a 
mere  question  of  expediency  what  disposition  we  shall  make  of  them. 
All  who  have  yet  spoken  admit  that  Congress  has  no  poioer  whatever 
over  slavery  in  the  respective  States.  It  is  settled.  "Whether  slavery  is 
right  or  wrong,  we  have  now' no  power,  to  consider  or  discuss.  Suppose, 
then,  a  petition  were  presented,  to  abolish  slavery  in  the  States,  would 
we  receive  it  ?  Assuredly  we  ought  not,  because  it  would  be  asking  us 
to  act  upon  a  subject  over  which  we  have  no  power. 

But  these  are  petitions  asking  Congress  to  abolish  slavery  in  this  dis- 
trict. »  Have  we  the  power?  I  think  not.  I  consider  the  argument  of 
the  honorable  senator  from  Virginia  (Mr.  Leigli),  npon  that  point,  con- 
clusive. ■  It  has  not  beeen  answered,  and  I  do  not  believe  it  can  be. 
Slaves  are  property  in  this  district — Congress  cannot  take  private 
property,  even  for  puMio  use,  without  inaking  just  compensation  to  the 
owner.  No  fund  is  provided  by  the  Constitution  to  pay  for  slaves 
wliich  may  be  liberated,  and  the  Constitution  never  gives  Congress  the 
power  to  act  upon  any  subject,  without,  at  the  same  time,  furnishing 
thfe  means  for  its  accoihplishment.  To  liberate  slaves  is  not  taking  them 
for  public  use.  It  Is  declaring  that  neither  individuals  nor  the  public 
shall  use  them.  I  will  not  weaken,  the  honorable  member's  argument  by 
going  over  it.  "  ■  ^    ■  ' 


r 


200  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

This  district  was  intended  as  the  place  where  the  great  business  of 
the  nation  should  be  transacted  for  the  good  of  the  whole.  Congress, 
under  the  Constitution,  is  placed*  here  to  legislate  upon  those  subjects 
enumerated  and  specified  in  the  Constitution,  that  we  might  be  able  to 
protect  ourselves,  and  the  oiScers  residing  here,  and  be  out  of  the  reach 
of  the  laws  of  any  State.  It  was  never  intended  that  we  should  havo 
any  local  legislation,  except  such  as  would  meet  the  wants  and  the 
wishes  of  the  people  residing  within  the  ten  miles  square.  "We  should 
never  permit  tliis  place  to  be  converted  into  a  political  workshop,  where 
l^lans.  would  be  devised,  or  carried  into  operation,  that  will  have  the 
eftect  of  destroying  the  interest  of  any  of  the  States. 

Members  of  Congress,  executive,  an'd  judicial  officers,  were  to  come  from 
any,  and  every  section  of  the  Union.  From  the  slaveholding,  and  the 
non-slaveholding  States ;  and  their  property  was  to  be  as  secure  here,  in 
this  ten  miles  square,  as  it  was  in  the  States  from  wiiich  they  i-espectively 
came.  They  would  bring  tl^eir  habits  and  their  domestic  servants  Avith 
them.  Those  from  the  rion-slaveholding  States  their  hired  servants,  and 
those  from  the  slaveholding  States  their  slaves  ;  and  who  can  believe  it 
was  intended  to  vest  the  power  in  Congress  to  liberate  them  if  brought 
within  the  district. 

>  Again,  the  right  of  property  in  slaves  in  the  States  is  sacred^  and  be- 
yorid  the  power  of  Congress  to  interfere  with,  in  any  respect ;  yet,  if  it  be 
conceded  that  we  have  the  power  to  liberate  them  in  the  district,  we  can 
as  effectually  ruin  the  owners  as  if  we  had  the  power  to  liberate  slaves  in 
the  States.  By  abolishing,  slavery  here,  we  not  only  make  a  place  of  re- 
fuge for  runaways,  but  we  produce  a  spirit  of  discontent  and  rebellion  in 
the  minds  of  slaves  in  the  neighboring  States,  which  will  soon  spread 
over  all,  and  which  cannot  fail  to  compel  owfiers  to  destroy  their  own 
slaves,  to  preserve  their  own  lives,  and  those  of  their  wives  and  -children. 
I  beseech  gentlemen  to  look  at  this  matter  as  it  is.  Take  for  illustration 
the  case  of  a  small  planter  in  Mississippi,  living  on  his  own  land,  with 
thirty  slaves  to  cultivate  it.  Suddenly  it  is  discovered  that  one  half  of " 
them  is  concerned  in  a  plot  to  destroy  the  lives  of  their  master,  bis  fam- 
ily, aild  neighbors,  with  a  view  to  pi'odiice  their  freedom,  and  immedi- 
ately with  or  without  law  tl'iey  are  tucked  up  and  hanged.  The  man  is 
thus  deprived  of  his  property  without  any  chance  iov  an  indemnity,  besides 
the  disquiet  and  anxiety  of  mind  occasioned  by  a  loss  6f  confidence  in  his 
remaining  slaves.  It  cannot  have  been  intended  that  Congress  by  acting 
on  this  subject,  should  have  a  power  thus  to  occasion  a  destruction  of 
slave  property. 

'  To  me  it  seems  that  ^q  bught  to  treat  these  petitions  precisely  as  we 
would  do,  if  they  prayed  us  to  abolish  slavery  in  one  of  the  States.  "We 
have  no  more  power  to  abolish  it  here  than  we  have  there. 

I  think  in  either  case  we  ouglirt  to  refuse  to  receive  them.  I  hold  that 
if  the  petitioners  ask  us  to  "do  that  which  we  have  no  power  to  do,  or  to 


ABOLITION    PETITIONS.  201 

do  that  which  will  be  proclnctive  of  a  great  and  lasting  mischief,  we  not 
only  have  the  rlght^  but  that  it  is  our  cUtty  to  refuse  to  receive  them. 

By  tlie  Constitution  no  man  can  be  held  to  answer  for  a  criminal  charge 
but  by  presentment,  or  indictment.  Suppose  a  petition  presented  here,  al- 
leging that  some  citizen  in  the  district  had  been  guilty  of  a  crime,  and  that 
he  was  so  influential  that  he  could  not  be  reached  by  the  ordinary  forms 
of  law  in  court,  and  therefore  we  are  asked  to  pass  a  bill  of  attainder. 
Ought  w-e  to  receive  th,e  petition  ?  Suppose  a  petition  to  ask  us  to  pass  a 
law  to  prohibit  any  member  of  this  body  fi-ora  making  a' speech  against 
the  prayer  of  the  petitioners,  would  we  receive  it?  Suppose  a  petition 
to  be  offered  asking  us  to  establish  a  particular  i-eligion  in  this  district,  or 
to  prohibit  any  publication  in  a  -newspaper  on  the  subject  of  abolishing 
slavery,  unless  it  was  previously  approved  of  by  a  committee ;  would 
we,  ought  we,  to  receive  any  such  petition?  I  think,  most  certainly,  we 
ought  not.  But  suppose  we  have  the  power,  is  there  any  senator  who 
believes  we  ought  exercise  it.  I  trust  not.  Those  who  urge  the  recep- 
tion of  this  petition,  which  is  from  tlie  Society  of  Friends,  have-  spoken 
most  highly  of  the  petitioners  and  the  class  of  citizens  to  which  they 
belong.  In  all  this  I  cheerfully  concur.  These  particular  persons  are 
strangers  to  me.  I  doubt  not  the  purity  of  their  motive^ ;  the  sect  to 
which  they  belong  is  worthy  of  all  the  encomiums  passed  upon  it.-  I 
respect  and  esteem  them,  most  highly,  and  do  not  feel  that  in  my  compo- 
sition there  is  a  particle  of  unkindness  towards  them;  but  I  think  they 
would  have  us  do  that  which  we  have  no  power  to  do,  and  if  we  had  the 
power,  by  exemsing  it,  we  should  do  infinite  mischief.  This,  these  peti- 
tioners do  not  desire.  They  have  discharged  what  they  think  is  their 
duty  by  having  their  petitions  presented ;  I  only  discliarge  mine  when  I 
say,  consistently  with  what  I  feel  to  be  nay  duty,  I  cannot  receive  them. 

But  it  is  further  insisted,  that  the  right  of  petition  is  a  sacred  one,  that 
belongs  to  the  nature  of  free  government,  and  existed  before  the  forma- 
tion of  our  Constitution,  and  that  instrument  did  not  give  the  right  to 
petition,  but  intended  only  to  secure  it.  This  is  sound  doctrine,  and  has 
my  hearty  assent. 

The  people  are  sovereign ;  members  are  their  agents,  or  servants ;  they 
have  a  right  to  make  known  their  grievances,  real  or  imaginary.  We 
dim  pass  no  law^  we  can  make  no  rule  to  abridge  or  destroy  that  right. 

But  what  do  gentlemen  mean  when  they  speak  of  the,  o^ight  of  peti- 
tion ?  Do  they  mean  that  when  the  petition  is  px-esented  we  must  receive 
it,  and  do  that  which  is  prayed  for?  No.  Not  one  member  contended 
for  this  ;  so  far  from  it,  they  say,  that  if  the  language  of  the  petitioner  is 
di«respeciful  to  the  lody^  or  imy  memier  of  it,  we  may,  and  ought  to 
re/use  to  receive  it.  ' 

How  is  this  ? .  I  beg  that  we  may  reflect  seriously  upon  this  matter. 
We  are  about  to  establish  a  doctrine  to  which  I  can  never  yield  my  assent. 


202  BIEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

Are  "we  to  be  exalted  above  our  employers  ?  Is  oitr  dignity  to  be  of  higher 
consideration  than  the  property  and  Hves  of  those  who  send  ns  here?  If 
a  petition  contains  matter  charging"  disgraceful  conduct  on  the  Senate,  or 
any  of  its  members,  we  may  not  receive  it;  butif  it;  contains  matter  which 
is  to  destroy  the  slave  property  in  this  district,  and  in  elcxen  States  of  this 
Union,  and  also  to  endanger  the  lives,  and  dicelUngs  of  every  citizen  icithin 
their  limits,  We  are  bound  to  receive  it  ? 

This  is  the  doctrine  contained  in  the  arguments.  I  deny  that  there  is 
any  such  distinction  to  be  found  in  a  single  feature  of  our  political  insti- 
tutions. The  truth  is,  we  have  the  power  in  liqth  instances  to  refuse  to 
receive  the  petitions,  but  in  exercising  it  when  we  ourselves  only  are  as- 
sailed, we  ought  always  to  act  most  liier-ally  in  receiving,  but.  where  the 
safety,  the  lives  and  the  property  of  our  masters  are  concerned,  we  have 
no  right  to  exercise  the  same  liberality. 

With  great  deference  for  the  opinions  of  others,  I  think  the  force  of 
tteir  whole  argument  rests  on  a  plain  mistake. 

They  argue  as  if  we  never  became  acquainted  with  the  contents  of  a 
petition,  or  could  consider  and  decide  upon  its  merits  until  after  it  is 
received. 

This  is  most  clearly  not  correct.  What  we  have  b^en  doing  for  the 
last  few  weeks  is  full  proof  of  it.  These  petitions  have  been  publicly 
read,  their  merits  and  tendency,  and  our  powers  to  abolish  slavery  have 
been  long  under  discussion — has  any  man  denied  our  right  to  do  so  ?  ISTot 
one.  The  only  doubt  suggested  is,  whether  it  was  prudent  to  adopt  this 
course. 

By  our  24th  rule,  when  a  petition  is  presented  the  member  must  briefly 
state  its  contents,  and  what  the  petitioners  wish  should  be  done.  He 
then  asl-s  that  the  petition  may  le  received,  and  specifies  what  he  wishes 
to  be  done  with  it  after  it  is  I'eceived.  .  If  no  member  objects,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  saving  time,  it  is  received  and  disposed  of  without  formally  pro- 
pounding the  question  of  reception  ;  but  if  any  member  objects,  he  may 
call  for  the  reading,  and  then  urge  his  reasons  why  it  should  not  be 
received.  "         • 

This  rule  establishes  no  new  doctrine,  it  is  founded  in  good  senge,  is 
perfectly  consistent  with  the  right  of  petition,  and  is  laid  down  as  the 
correct  practice  by  Mr.  Jefl:ez'son  in  his  Manual  at  page  140. 

What  is  the  right  of  the  petitioner  ?  It  consists  in  his  Imving  free  per- 
mission to  make  known  to  Congress  what  he  esteems  a  grievance,  and  to 
ask  them  to  provide  a  rerhedy.  When  his  petition  is  presented,  the  duty 
of  Congress  commences.  That  consists  in  tlie  members  making  them- 
selves acquainted  with  the  confents  of  the  petition,  and  granting  its  prayeir 
J'f  it  be  just  and  consistent  Avith  the  public  iMerest',  or  in  refusing  to 
receive  the  petition,  or  making  some  other  disposition  of  it,  which  in 
their  judgment  will  more  conduce  to  the  good  of  the  community. 


,     .  ABOLITION    PETITIONS.  203 

Wlien  we  refuse  to  receive  a  petition,  we  no  more  destroy  or  impair 
the  right  of  petition,  than  we  do  when  we  receive  the  petition  and  lay  it 
upon  the  table,  or  reject  the  prayer  of  it,  or  refer  it  to  a  committee  wlio 
.report  that  it  is  lanreasonable,  and  ought  not.to  be  granted. 

In  each  of  these  cases,  the  complaint  of  tlie  petitioner  has  been  Tieard^ 
considered  and  decided  on.  In  neither  instance  has  he  obtained  a  redress 
for  what  he  supposed  a  grievance,  but  each  leaves  him  equally  at  liberty 
to  renew  his  petition  at  any  subsequent  period. 

Four  modes  have  been  suggested  by  whioh  to  dispose  of  this  and  all 
others  on  the  same  subject.  "" 

The  first  we  have  been  considering,  and  is  to  refuse  to  receive  it. 

The  second  is  ta  receive  them,  lay  them  on  the  table,  and  there  let 
them  lie. 

The  third  is  to  receive  them,  and  then  instantly  reject  the  prayer  of 
the  petitioners. 

The  fourth  is  to  receive  them,  refer  them  to  a  committee,  and  let  that 
committee  make  a  report  upon  them. 

,  I  prefer  the  first,  because,  when  we  refuse  to  receive  the  petitions,  they 
are  returned  to  those  who  sent  them,  and  it  wiU  most  strongly  discoun- 
tenance all  hope  that  Congress  ever  can,  or  ever  ought,  to  pass  any  law 
npon  the  subject  to  which  they  refer. 

In  each  of  the  other  three,  we  retain  the  petitions,  place  them  on  our 
files  in  the  custody  of  our  officer,  and  at  any  subsequent  session  they  are 
here,  and  it  will  be  competent  for  any  member  to  move  their  reference 
to  a  committee;  whereas,  if  returned  to  the  petitioner,  if  *  they  ever 
again  make  their  appearance,  it  must  be  by  their  being  re-sent  and 
re-presented. 

I  think  that  plan  is  the  i^^st  advisable,  and  will  be  most  likely  to  calm 
the  disturbance  in  the  slave  States,  which  will  most  strongly  manifest  to 
all,  in  every  quarter,  that  Congress  will  not  interfere  with  slavery  as  it 
exists  in  the  States  and  in  this  district. 

If  these  petitions  are  received,  I  then  think  the  disposition  of  them 
proposed  by  the  senator  from  Pennsylvania  the  next  best — 'that .  is, 
immediately  to  reject  their  prayer.  This  would  be  far  preferable  to  lay- 
ing them  silently  on  the  table  without  expressing  any  opinion  whatever. 

There  is  another  aspect  in  which  this  question  may  be  viewed  that  hds 
bad  great  influence  on  my  own  mind. 

Congress  sits  here  as  tlie  legislature  of  the  whole  Union,'  and  also  as  the 
only  legislature  for  the  local  concerns  of  the  District  of  Colum'bia. 
These  petitions  do  not  ask  us  to  make  ageneral  law,  operating  throughout 
tlie  whole  Union.,  but  a  law,  the  operations  of  which  are  to  be  spent  entirely 
upon  property  within  the  ten  miles  square.  '  Now  if  we  Avere  in  form., 
as  well  as  in  substance,  a  local  legislature  when  acting  on  this  question, 
which    gentlemen   say  is  to  affect   slavery    in    the  district,    and    no 


204  ateMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

where  else,  would  we  be  bound  to  receive  these  petitions  ?  No  more 
than  we  are  bound  to  receive  petitions  from  France  or  Germany.  Would 
gentlemen,  if  sitting  as  members  of  the  legislature  of  Alabama,  feel 
bound  to  receive  petitions  from  citizens  of  Maine  or  Pennsylvania  to 
emancipate  slaves  within  their  own  State  ?  Assuredly  not.  If  that  be 
so,  is  it  not  most  reasonable,  when  we  are  called  upon  to  pass  an  act  con- 
fined exclusively  to  this  district,  that  we  should  conduct  towards  the 
people  here,  as  if 'in  this  matter  they  were  our  constituents  ? 

Will  it  iiot  be  time  enough  to  receive  petitions  on  this  subject  when 
they  are  presented  on  behalf  of  those  upon  whose  property  alone,  it  is 
said  the  law  would  operate? 

Honorable  senators  have  told  us  there  are  two  classes  of  aboli- 
tionists, and  that  public  opinion  will  soon  put  down  the  mischievous 
class,  which  is  small  in  number.  Gentlemen,  I  doubt  aot,  think  as  they 
say.  All  we  know  is,  that  our  peace  has  been  very  much  disturbed  by 
them,  whether  few  or  many. 

Their  newspapers,  their  pamphlets  and  pictorial  representations  have 
been  plentiful.  They  have  come  to  us  through  the  mail,  and  by  other 
means,  in  great  abundance,  and  if  we  are  to  live  together  as  one  people, 
they  must  stop.  It  is  vain  to  reason- with  people  about  the  liberty  of 
speech,  and  of  the  press,  when  their  lives  are  put  at  hazard.  When  the 
domestic  circle  is  invaded,  when  a  man  is  afraid  to  eat  his  provisions,  lest 
his  cook  has  been  prevailed  .on  to  mix  poison  with  his  food,  or  dare  not 
go  to  sleep,  lest  the  servants  will  cut  the  throats  of  himself,  his  wife  and 
children  before  he  awakes,  he  will  not  endure  it;  and,  when  he  can  lay 
hands  upon  those  who  prompt  to  such  deeds  of  mischief,  he  will  not  wait 
for  the  ordinary  form  of  law  to  redress  him.  He  takes  the  laws  into  his 
own  hands,  and  everything  which  accustoms  us  to  violate  the  law,  is  a 
serious  evil  in  a.  country  as  free  as  ours,  where  the  laws  should  govern. 

The  honorable  senator  from  Mississippi  has  sho^vn  us  something  of  the 
feelings  of  his  State,  which  has  suffered  much.  In  mine,  when  we  first 
heard  of  punishing  persons  in  Mississippi,  without  legal  trial,  we  thought 
it  all  wrong,  and  some  of  our  leading  newspapers  courteously  found  fault 
with  it.  Their  columns  were  not  long  dry  until  one  of  these  distributers 
of  abolition  pamphlets  was  found  in  our  most  populous  and  respectable 
city,  and  an  assemblage  of  our  most  orderly  and  discreet  citizens  immedi- 
ately resorted  for  address  to  the  same  summary  process  which  had  been 
used  in  our  sister  State. 

Public  opinion  may  have  done  something  on  this  subject.  I  know  of  only 
one  attempt  to  establish  a  press  for  such  publications  in  any  slaveholding 
State.  The  neighbors  of  tlie  gentleman  informed  him  Aat  his  press 
would  be  productive  of  mischief,  and  he  must  not  establish  it  in  their 
town — ^lie  answered  that  he  held  it  a  high  duty  which  he  could  not  dis- 
pense with,  to  prpceed,  and  he  would  do  so.    They  repHed  if  he  did  they 


PUBLIC   LANDS   FOR   ACTUAL   SETTLERS.  205 

would  consider  it  their  duty  to  demolish  his  building,  and  sow  his  types 
broad-cast  in  the  streets.  This  manifestation  of  public  opinion  he 
respected.  He  knew  that  those  with  whom  he  had  to  deal  would  keep 
their  word.  He  desisted,  retired  to  a  neighboring  State,  where,  as  I  have 
understood,  he  is  now  publishing  his  paper. 

I  beg  gentlemen  to  consider  that  it  is  of  no  consequence  to  us  whether 
the  abolitionists,  in  their  States,  are  many  or  few ;  their  publications  are 
numerous ;  they  have  already  produced  much  mischief,  and  if  persisted  in 
must  end  in  consequences  to  be  for  e\^er  regretted  by  us  all. 

For  myself,  on  the  subject  of  the  disposition  we  may  make  of  these 
petitions,  I  can  have  no  other  wish  than  that' it  may  be  such,  as  will  most 
tend  to  allay  excitement,  and  restore  that  harmony,  which  is  so  essential 
to  the  common  interest  of  our  whole  country. 

When  Mr.  Clay's  bill  for  the  distribution  of  the  proceeds  of  the 
Public  Lands  was  first  presented,  Judge  White  voted  against  it,  for 
the  plain  reason  that  the  treasury  was  comparatively  empty,  and  the 
nation  in  debt.  When  it  was  subsequently  presented,  the  treasury 
was  full  to  overflowing,  and  he  voted  for  it ;  sustaining  it  in  a  speech 
worthy  of  his  reputation,  in  which  he  maintained  that  the  surplus  in 
the  treasury  had  been  gathered  by  taxation  from  the  people,  and  that 
it  was  but  just  that  it  should  now  be  distributed  for  their  benefit. 
He  also  forcibly  exhibited  the  vices  of^  the  various  other  plans  for  the 
use  of  the  same  funds ;  and  took  occasion  to  urge  the  adoption  of 
measures  substantially  identical  with  those  at  present  urged  for  facili- 
tating the  purchase  of  land  by  actual  settlers  upon  it.  This  well- 
considered  and  valuable  speech,  delivered  April  26,  1836,  is  as  follows : 

Mr.  President:  The  subject  under  consideration  is  not  new,  but  the 
circumstances  connected  with  it  are  both  novel  and  important. 

Formerly  we  were  in  debt,  and  had  no  money  in  the  treasury,  which 
we  could  not  conveniently  use.  Now  we  owe  nothing,  and  have  an 
overflowing  treasury.  The  common  wants  for  an  economical  adminis- 
tration of  the  government,  will  require  but  a  small  portion  of  our  vast 
qnd  accumulating  treasure;  and  the  question  is,  what  disposition  shall 
we  make  of  the  surplus. 

Several  projects  have  been  presented.  An  increase  of  the  Army,  of  the 
Navy,  additional  fortifications,  and  munitions  of  War,  is  one  plan.  An- 
other is  to  put  the  funds  in  the  power  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  Sinking 
Fund,  .and  let  them  vest  them  in  stocks,  which  will  add  to  our  wealth. 
A  third  is,  to  form  contracts  with  incorporated  railroad  companies,  for 
transporting  the  mail,  your  warhke  stores,  and  your  armies.    And  the 


206  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    "WHITE. 

fourth  is  that  presented  by  this  bill,  which  is  to  distribute  the  proceeds 
of  the  public  lands  among  the  several  States. 

In  forming  an  opinion  upon  this  subject  I  find  myself  compelled  to 
form  some  opinion  on  each  of  the  others  also,  that  I  may  be  able  to  de- 
cide which  ought  be  preferred. 

But  the  first  question  to  be  settled  is  one  of  power. 

If  we  have  no  poioer  to  dispose  of  this  money,  as  this  bill  proposes,  it 
is  only  a  waste  of  time  to  pursue  the  subject  any  farther. 

Some  of  our  enlightened  pubhc'  men,  years  past,  foresaw  difiicidties, 
which  would,  ia  time,  originate  from  surpluses  accumulating  in/the  trea- 
sury, and  suggested  this  very  plan  for  disposing  of  them.  Some  doubted 
the  power  under  the  Constitution,  and  suggested  an  amendment  to  remove 
the  doubt ;  others  felt  no  doubts,  therefore  did  not  deem  any  amendment 
■necessary.  All,  however,  seem  to  have  concurred'  in  the  fairness  and 
justice  of  this  disposition  of  such  funds,  as  might  not  be  needed,  for  the 
uses  of  the  federal  government. 

If  I  mistake  not,  Mr.  Jefferson,  while  President,  made  a  suggestion  to 
Congress  on  this  subject. 

Ten  years  ago  an  honorable  senator,  from  Few  Jersey,  now  Secretary 
of  the  Navy,  and  I  do  him  the  justice  to  add,  then,  as  well  as  now,  a 
zealous  friend  of  the  present  Chief  Magistrate,  riioved  in  this  body  on 
this  swbject,  had  a  committee  created,  made  an  able,  detailed  report, 
accompanied  by  a  bill,  which  was  not  finally  acted  on  during  the  session. 

To  do  that  gentleman  justice  I  must  recur  to  this  report,  and  read  such 
parts  of  it  as  are  material,  that  we  may  have  the  benefit  of  his  opinion  as 
enforced  by  himself.  It  is  found  in  the  4th  vol.  of  the  Senate  Documents 
at  the  session  1825  and  1826  :  doc.  95,  page  1 ;  and  is  in  these  words  : 

The  Committee,  from  as  careful  an  examination  of  tlie  subject,  as  a  due  attention  to  their 
other  duties  would  permit  them  to  make,  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  great  advantages 
would  result  to  the  United  States  from  an  annual  distri1)ution  among  them,  by  some  equitable 
ratio,  of  a  portion  of  our  national  revenue,  for  the  purposes  of  education  and  internal  improve- 
ment, or  for  such  other  purposes  as  the  State  governmenis  may  respectively  deem  most  to  their 
advantage.  -  Whether  the  United  States  shaU-divide  the  whole  of  their  revenues,  beyond  what 
are  required  for  the  usual  expenditures  of  the  gavernraent,  domestic  and  foreign,  civil,  military, 
and  naval,  to  the  reduction  of  our  pulilic  debt,  until  the  whole  of  it  shall  be  extinguished;  or 
\yhether  they  shall  apply  a  portion  of  those  revenues,  as  proposed  for  the  most  important  pur- 
poses, and  thereby  cause  a  more  gradual  reduction  of  the  public  debt,  resolves  itself  into  a 
question  of  expediency. 

^t  remains  for  Congress,  to  determine  which  of  these  courses  will  most  effectually  promote 
the  present,  as  well  as  the  future,  prosperity  of  the  country.  Tlierecan  be  no  doubt,  that  money 
distributed  among  the  States  as  proposer!,  would  be  invested  in  a  way  to  give  much  greater 
profit,  than  the  interest  on^uch  money  would  yield  at  three,  four  and  a  half,  or  even  five  per 
cent,  which  are  the  rates  of  interest.now  paid  on  the  greater  part  of  our  public  debt. 

As  a  large  portion  of  this  debt  is  payable  to  persons  in  Euroi>e,  to.  discharge  it  as  fast,  as  our 
means  wauld  permit,  would  be  to  send  from  the  country  sooner  than  necessary,  funds  that  are 
wanted  at  home ;  the  inconvenience  of  which  would  i)e  sensibly  felt  in  the  present  embarrassed 
state  of  our  money  market,  and  most  probably,  for  several  years  to  come. 

Money  distributed  as  ijroposed,  would  give  new  activity  to  industry  and  enterprise  in  all 
the  States ;  and  that  equally  and  Bimultaneouily. 


PUBLIC    LANDS    FOR   ACTUAL    SETTLKRS.  207 

Jt  would  ci'eate  a  rigilance  on  the  part  of  the  State  governments,  over  the  expenditures  of 
the  general  gojeVnment,  alnl  thereby  prevent  the  waste  of  money,  and  the  adoption  of  extra- 
vagant measures,  that  miglit  ilkninish  the  amount  of  the  annual  dividends. 

It  would  secure  impartial  justice  to  all  the  States  in  the  disuibution  of  the  expenditures  of 
our  revenue,  a  failure  in  which  at  present  is  a  subject  of  loud  and  just  complaint. 

It  would  relieve  the  general  government  of  the  serious  inconvenience  of  an  overflowing 
treasury,  wliich,  if  not  pt-ovided  for  in  the  manner  proposed,  or  by  a  reduction  of  our  revenue, 
will  impair  tlie  most  important  principles  of  our  Constitution. 

It  would  relieve  the  two  Houses  of  Congress  of  a  large  portion  of  legislation,  now  devoted  to 
the  disposal  of  our  surplus  funds — legislation  of  the  worst  kind,  calculated  to  produce  combi- 
nations, sectional  feehngs,  injustice  and  waste  of  tl>e  public  treasure. 

It  would  transfer  to  the  States,  the  regulation  of  expenditures  for  internal  improvements  by 
roads  and  canals,  which  if  retained  and  exercised  by  the  general  government,  cpntrary,  as  is 
believed  by  many,  to  the  letter  and  spirit  of  our  Constitution,  will,  in  time,  so  far  decrease  the 
powei-s  of  the  State  goTernments,  and  increase  those  of  the  United  States  government,  as  to 
destroy  the  federative  principle  of  our  Union,  and  convert  our  system  of  confsderated  republics 
into  a  consolidated  government. 

It  would  remove  the  cause  of  the  great  and  increasing  difficulties  arising  from  an  objection, 
on  constitutional  grounds,  to  the  exercise  of  the  right  claimed  on  the  part  of  the  United  States, 
of  making  roads  and  canals  through  the  different  States  of  the  Union.  It  would  enable-  the 
general  government  to  keep  in  operation  an  efficient  system  of  finance  and  reveriue  with  ad- 
vantage to  the  States.  And  should  the  exigencies  of  the  country  require  the  application  of  all 
om-  means  to  some  object  connected  with  our  national  peace  and  prosperity,  those  means  could 
soon  be  brought  into  operation,  by  suspending,  for  a  time,  the  dividends  to  the  States.  By  this 
our  treasury  would  be  tilled  without  a  sudden  resort  to  new  taxes,  which  might  be  oppressive 
to  agriculture,  and  which  might  create  much  inconvenience  by  interrupting  the  pursuits  and 
industry  of  our  citizens. 

Money  collected  from  the  sources  which  now  give  us  our  revenues  and  distributed  among 
the  States  as  proposed,  would  produce  a  rapid  and  profitable  circulation  of  our  funds,  from  the 
centre  to  the  extremities  of  the  Union,  and  thus  add  to  the  force  of  the  moneyed  capital,  of  the 
country. 

It  -will  here  be  rfemarked,  no  doubt  was  felt  or  expressed,  as  to  power 
to  distribute  every  portion  of  the  revenue,  which  could  be  spared,  and  a 
plan  was  recommended  for  adoption  immediately,  although  we  then  owed 
a  large  debt,  beating  various  rates  of  interest  from  three  up  to  six  per 
centum.  r 

Next  in  the  order  of  time,  is  the  message  of  tlie  present  Chief  Magis- 
trate at  the  coinmencemeut  of  the  session  of  Congress  in  1829,  found  in 
the  Senate  Journiil,  pages  13  and  14.  That  part  of  it  which  is  material, 
is  in  these  words : 

'After  the  extinctiiBn  of  the  public  debt  it  is  no(>prx)bable  that  aiiy  adjustment  of  the  tariff,  upon 
principles  satisfactory  to  the  people  of  the  Union,  will,  until  a  remote  period,  if  ever,  leave  the 
gOYernment  without  a  considerable  surplus  in  the  treasury,  beyond  what  may  be  necessary 
Ibr  its  current  service.  As  then  the  period  approaches  when  the  application  of  the  revenue 
to  the  payment  of  debt  will  cease,  the  disposition  of  the  surplus  will  preserit  a  subject  for  the 
serious  deliberation  of  Congress,  and  it  may  be  fortunate  for  the  country  that  it  is  yet  to  be 
decided.  Considered  in  connection  with  the.difficulties  which  have  heretofore  attended  appropria- 
tions for  purposes  of  internal  improvement,  and  with  those  which  this  experience  tells  us  will 
certainly  arise,  whenever  power  over  such  subjects  may  be  exercised  by  the  general  govern- 
ment, it  is  honied  that  it  may  lead  to  the  adoption  of  some  plan,  which  will  reconcile  the  diver- 
sified interests  of  the  States, 'and  strengthen  the  bonds  wliich  unite. them.  Every  n>ember  of 
the  Union,  in  peace  and  in  war,  will  be  benefited  by  the  improvement  of  inland  navigation, 
and  the  construction  of  highways  in  the  several  Slates.    Let  us  then  endeavor  to  attain  this 


208  MEMOIR    OF    HPGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

benefit  in  a  mode  which  will  be  satisfactory  to  all.  That  hitherto  adopted  has,  by  many  of  our 
feilow-citizens,  been  deprecated  as  an  infraction  of  the  Constitution;  while,  l>y  others,  it  has 
been  avowed  inexpedient.  All  feel  that  it  has  been  employed  at  the  expease  of  harmony  in 
the  legislative  councils.  ' 

To  avoid  these  evils,  it  appears  to  me  that  the  most  safe,  just  and  federal  flisposition,  which 
could  be  made  of  the  surplus  revenue,  would  be  its  apportionment  among  the  several  States  ac- 
cording to  their  ratio  of  representation — and  should  this  measure  not  be  found  warranted  by 
the  Constitution,  that  it  would  be  expedient  to  propose  to  the  States  an  amendnient  authorizing 
it.  I  regard  an  appeal  to  the  source  of  power,  in  cases  of  real  doubt,  and  when  its  exercise  is 
deemed  indispensable  to  the  general  welfare,  as  among  the  most' sacred  of  all  our  obligations. 
Upon  this  country,  more  than  any  other,  has,  in  the  providence  of  God,  been  cast  the  special 
guardianship  of  the  great  principle  of  adherence  to  written  Constitutions.  If  it  fail  here,  all 
hope  in  regard  to  it  will  be  extinguished.  That  this  was  intended  to  be  a  government  of 
limited  and  specific,  and  not  general,  powers,  must  be  admitted  by  all ;  and  it  is  our  duty  to  - 
preserve  for  it  the  chafacter  intended  by  its  framers.  If  experience  points  out  the  necessity 
for  an  enlargement  of  these  ptrwers,  let  us  apply  for  it  to  those  for  whose  benefit  it  is  to  be 
exercised ;  and  not  undermine  the  whole  system  by  a  resort  to  overstrained  constructions. 

It  will  be  perceived  that  iu  these  two  short  paragraphs,  the  justice  and 
utility  of  distributing  these  surplus  fund^,  are  pi-esented  to  tjie  miud,  in 
language  as  clear,  distinct,  and  forcit)le,  as  can  well  be  employed. 

It  was  not  necessary  to  his  purpose,  and  therefore  he  did  not  examine 
the  question  whether  the  powers  of  Congress  over  the  moneys  arising 
from  the  p^iMic  lands,  were  as  limited  as  those  possessed  over  moneys 
derived  from  taxes,  and  he  contents  himself  with  the  expression  of  a 
general  doubt  on  the  question  of  power,  and  recommends  an  amendment 
of  the  Constitution  to  remove  it. 

At  the  session  of  1831  and  1832,  this  subject  is  introduced  into  the 
report  of  Mr.  McLane,  then  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  afterwards 
Secretary  of  State.  Wliat  he  says  will  be  found  in  the  Senate  Documents, 
vol.  1,  doc.  3,  page  12 — and  is  in  these  words:  -, 

The  sources  from  which  the  revenue  has  hitherto  been  derived,  are  the  imports,  public  lands, 
and  bank  dividends.  With  the  sales  of  the  bank  stock  th«  latter  will  cease;  and  as  the 
imports,  according  to  any  scale  of  duties  which  it  will  be  expedient  and  practicable  to  adopt, 
will  be  "  amply  sufficient"  to  meet  all  the  expenditures,  that  portion  of  the  revenue  heretofore 
drawn  from  the  sale  of  the  public  lands  maybe  dispensed  with,  should  Congress  see  fit  to  do  so. 

On  this  point,  the  undersigned  deems  it  proper  to  observe,  that  the  creation  of  numerous 
States  throughout  the  Western  country,  now  forming  a  most  important  part  of  the  Union,  an^ 
the  relative  powers  claimed  and  exercised  by  Congress  and  the  respective  States  over  the  public 
lands,  have  been  gradually  accumulating  causes  of  inquietude  and  difficulty,  if  not  of  com- 
plaint. It  may  well  deserve  consideration,  therefore,  whether,  at  a  period  demanding  an  ami- 
cable and  permanent  adjustment  of  the  various  suljjects  which  now  agitate  the  public  mind, 
these  may  not  be  advantageously  disposed  of,  in  common  with  the  others,  and  upon  princi^l^s 
just  and  satisfactory  to  all  parts  of  the  Union. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  the  public  lands  were  ceded  by  the  States,  or  subsequently  acquired 
by  Wie  United  Stages,  for  the  common  benefit,  and  that  "each  State  has  an  interest  in  theiti 
proceeds,  of  which  it  cannot  justly  be  deprived."  Over  this  part  of  "the  public  property,  the 
powers  of  the  general  government  have  been  unifoi-mly  supposed  to  have  a  peculiarly  extensive 
Bcope,  and  have  been  construed  to  authorize  their  application  to  purposes  of  education  and 
improvement,  to  which  other  branches  of  revenue  were  not  deemed  api)lioable.  It  is  not  prac- 
ticable to  keep  the  public  lands  out  of  the  market,  and  the  present  mode  of  disposing  of  them  is 
not  the  most  profitalile,  either  to  the  general  government,  or  to  the  States,  and  must  be 


PUBLIC   LANDS   FOB   ACTUAL    SETTLERS.  209 

expecte<l,  when  the  proceeds  shall  be  no  longer  requised  for  the  public  debt,  to  give  nse  to  new 
and  more  serious  objections. 

Unddr  these  circumstances,  if  is  submitted  to  tlie  wisdom  of  Congress,  to  decide  upon  the 
propriety  of  all  the  public  lands  in  the  aggregate,  to  those  States  within  whose  territorial  limits 
they  lie,  at  a  fair  price,  to  be  settled  in  such  manner  as  might  be  satisfactory  to  all.  The  aggre- 
gate price  of  the  whole  "  may  then  be  apportioned  among  the  several  Stijtes  of  the  Union," 
according  to  such  equitable  ratio  as  may  be  consistent  with  the  oljjects  of  the  original  session,, 
and  the  proportion  of  each  paid. 

The  vigorous  and  discriminating  mind  of  this  highly  gifted  and  useful 
man,  at  once  recognizes  as  sound,  a  distinction  in  the  powers  of  Congress 
over  moneys  derived  from  a  disposition  of  the  public  lands,  and  those 
powers  which  that  Lody  may  be  supposed  to  possess  over  moneys  derived 
from  other  sources,  and  he  strongly  urges  the  necessity  and  propriety  of 
a  distribution  among  the  States. 

It  is  fortunate  that  we  are  not  yet  placed  in  circumstances  which  make 
it  essential  to  decidewheth^r  we  have  a  power  to  divide  all  surplus  reve- 
nue, no  matter  fi-om  what  source  derived. 

I  profess  to  be  what  is  called  a  strict  constructionist  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, and  that  our  ^^ovfav  to  appropriate  money  is  necessarily  confined  to 
appropriations,  to  effect  some  object  upon  which  Congress  is  expressly 
empowered  to  legislate^  or  some  necessary  and  appropriate  means  to  effect 
such  enumerated  objects.  Still  I  never  have  heen^satisjied  we  do  not  pos- 
sess tlie  power  to  distribute  surplus  revenue,  if  it  is  believed  wise  to  do  so. 

No  just  government  will  take,  either  by  direct  or  indirect  taxes,  more 
money  than  is  necessary  to  defray  all  the  reasonable  'expenses  of  the 
government.  When  taxes  are  imposed  either  directly,  or  by  an  assess- 
ment of  duties,  it  cannot  be  foretold  precisely  how  much  will  be  wanted, 
or  how  much  will  be  received,  in  the  treasury.  "We  must  necessarily  act 
upon  estimates.  To  some  extent,  we  shall  be  mistaken.  Foreseeing  this, 
and  for  the  sake  of  collecting  what  Will  be  certainly  sufficient,  we  shall 
almost  invariably  collect  more  than  is  necessary.  In  a  series  of  years, 
these  accumulating  balances  will  amount  to  a  sum  too  large  to  remain 
locked  up  and  entirely  useless.  What  then  is  to  be  done  ?  We  surely 
are  not  at  liberty  to  devise  some  wasteful  and  mischievous  project,  merely 
to  use  the  money. 

It  came  into  the  treasury  by  mistake — mistakes  which,  in  the  nature 
of  things,  could  not  be  avoided.  Have  we  no  power  to  correct  them 
when  discovered  ?  Is  not  the  power  to  refund  the  money  a  necessoA-y 
result  from  the  power  to  assess  and  collect  it  ? 

Is  not  this  a  power  which  Congress  has  always  exercised,  and  must 
exercise,  as  tg  individuals  ? 

By  mistake,  our  officers  collect  and  place  in  the  treasury,  money  which 
ought  not  to  have  been  collected ;  the  mistake  is  discovered,  and  the  indi- 
vidual calls  on  Congress  for  redress.  We  pass  a  law  to  refund  the  money. 
Where  do  we  get    power  to  do  this?     There  is  no  express  grant  of 

14 


210  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

any  such  power;  but  it  results  fi-om  the  very  nature  of  the  relation 
which  exists  between  the  payer  and  receiver.  ^The  latter  must  always 
have  power  to  act  justly.,  to  act  honestly.,  and  whenever  he  finds  he  haa 
money  through  mistake.,  he  would  seem  to  have  power  to  return  it.  But 
I  do  not  intend  to  express- any  opinion  on  this  point,  or  to  prolong  a  dis- 
cussion, by  introducing  important  topics,  not  necessary  to  our  action  on 
this  bill.  All  I  intended,  was  to  state,  for  myself,  that  should  it  ever 
become  necessary  to  discuss  the  general  subject  of  our  power  to  distribute 
the  wliole  surplus.,  no  matter  from  what  source  derived,  for  one,  I  think 
it  well  worth  a  cai^ful  and  deliberate  consideration,  before  it  is  either 
affirmed  or  denied  ;  and  I  most  heartily  concur  in  the  sound  doctrine  of 
the  President,  that  we  ought  not  to  act.,  when  there  is  a  reasonable  doubt 
of  our  power.  ^ 

The  question  which  Ave  must  now  decide  is,  whether  we  have  power  to 
do  that,  which  all  admit,  it  is  perfectly  jws^  we  should  do,  if  we  have  the 
poipsr — distribute  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  the  piiblic  lands. 

The  following  considerations  have  satisfied^  my  own  mind,  and  they  ara 
respectfully  submitted  for  the  reflection  of  others.  Our  public  lands 
were  acquired  by  the  United  States,  by  deeds  of  cessions  from  several 
individual  States,  and  by  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  and  Florida,  which 
^ere  paid  for  by  moneys  derived  from  the  lands  which  had  been  ceded  hy 
individual  States.  ' 

The  most  important  cession  was  made  by  the  State  of  Virginia,  in  the 
year  1784,  and  that  part  of  the  cession  material  to  our  present  purpose,  is 
in  the  following  words  :  ' 

That  all  the  lands  within  the  territory  so  ceded  to  the  United  States,  and  not  reserved  for, 
or  appropriated  to  any  of  the  before-mentioned  purposes,  or  disposed  of  in  bounties  to  the 
officers  and  soldiers  of  the  American  army,  shall  be  considered  as  a  "  common  fund"  for  the 
use  and  benefit  of  such  of  the  United  States  as  have  become,  or  "  shall "  become,  members  of 
the  confederation,  or  federal  aUiance  of  the  said  States,  "  Virginia  inclusive,  according  to 
their  usual  respective  proportions  in  the  general  charge  and  expenditure,"  and  shall  be  "  faith- 
fully and  bona  fide  disposed  of  for  that  purpose,  and  for  no  other  use  or  purpose  whatsoever." 
— LatDa  US.  vol.  i.,  p.  474. 

This  language  creates  an  express  trust  between  the  United  States  and 
each  individual  State. 

By  it  the  United  States  stand  pledged  to  hold  these  lands  in  trusty  that 
they  shall  he  faithfully  managed^  and  their  avails  applied  for  the  joint 
leneft  of  all. 

So  far  as  it  has  been  applied  to  the  payment  of  debts  due  by  all,  the 
trust  has  been  complied  with ;  but  now  the  debts  are  paid,  aud  there  is  a 
surplus,  have  we  -the  power  to  give  this  surplus  to  those  for  whose  use 
the  trust  was  q-eated  ? 

I  might  ask  who  can  doubt  it  ? 

Suppose  the  States  still  bound  together  only  by  the  articles  of  confede- 


PUBLIC   L.VNDS   FOK   ACTUAL    SETTLERS.  211 

ration,  out  of  money  raised  in  its  owrt-way,  and  out  of  its  own  means, 
each  State  had  paid,  whep  called  on,  its  regular  quota  for  the  expenses  of 
the  federal  government,  and  for  the  payment  of  the  national  debt,  and 
there  was  a  sJurplus  of  twenty  or  tliirty  miUions  of  dollars,  for  which  the 
federal  government  had  no  use,  would  we  not  be  bound  to  distribute  it  ? 
I  say  we  would  not  only  have  the  power  to  do  so,  but  if  we  did  not  exert 
it,  a  court  of  chancery  would  compel  ns^  if  we' could  be' sued. 

The  very  terms  of  the  cession  look' to  distribution.  If  this  were  not 
so,  why  say  in  the  deed,  that  when  used  for  the  benefit  of  all,  "  Virginia'''' 
shall  he  included f  Why  fix  the  ''•'■.ratio''''  in  which  payments  shall  be 
made  to  each  ?  If  we  only  have  power  to  ^ay  dehts,  and  bear  common 
expenses  of  government.^  with  these  monej's,  and  can  do  nothing  else  with 
them,  both  these  regulations  would  have  been  useless. 
,  I  take.it,  therefore,  as  too  clear  for  a  doubt,  that  if  now  connected  by 
the  articles  of  confedel-ation  only,  we  would  have  the  power  to  distribute. 

The  next  question  is,  did  the  adoption  oi  \hQ  present  Constitution  alter 
the  rights  of  the  parties,  or  tahefroni  Congress  the  power  to  comply  with 
their  engagement  f    I  answer,  unhesitatingly,  no. 

In  the  6th  article  of  the  Constitution,  the  first  paragraph  runs  thus: 

All  debt?  contracted,  "  and  engagements  entered  into,"  before  the  adoption  of  this  Constitu- 
tion, shall  be  as  valid  against  the  United  States  under  this  Constitution  "  as  under  the  <ionfed» 
eration." 

In  the  third  section  of  the  fourth  article  of  the  same  instrument,  this 
language  is  found : 

Tlie  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of,  and  make  ^U  needful  rules  and  regulations, 
respecting  the  territory  or  other  property  of  the  United  States,  and  nothing  in  this  Constitu- 
tion sliall  be  construed  to  prejudice  any  claims  of  the  United  States,  or  of  any  "  particular 
gtate." 

Thus  we  find  all  debts  contracted,  and  engagements  entered  into,' Se/bre, 
were  to  remain  unchauged,  and  the  resi^ective  rights  of  the  United  States 
and  of  eajch  individual  State.,  were  to  remain  precisely  as  if  the  form  of 
government  had  not  'been  altered.^  and  etpr^ss  power  is  conferred  to 
dispose  of  the  public  lauds,  and  to  make  all  needful  rules  and  regulations 
respecting  the  territory  or  other  property  of  the  United' States. 

With  these  difterent  provisions  before  him,  who  can  doubt  the  power 
of  the  United  States,  to  do  that  which,  by  accepting  this  trust,  they 
expressly  agree  to,  do  ? 

Cessions  from  the  other  States  are  made  substantially  on  the  same 
conditions,  and  liable  to  the  same  dispositions  by  Congress.  Louisiana 
and  Florida  were  purchased  with  the  avaih  of  those  ceded  lands,  tlie 
trustee  is  the  same,  and  that  trustee  holds  these  lands  loaded  icith  exaxtly 
the  samS  burden.,  and  is  bound,  if  those  for  whose  use  they  are  holden 
desire  it,  to  dispose  of  them  and  their  proceeds  in  the  same,  manner. 


212  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

I  hold,  therefore,  that,  be  the  general  question  of  power  to  distribute 
the  loTiole  revenue  settled  as  it  may,  there  ought  to  he  no  question  as  to 
the^^^Jice?"  to  divide  moneys  arising  from  the  sales  of  lands. 

But  it  has  been  argued  that  if  we;  have  the  power  there  is  no  money  to 
divide.  That  when  the  amount  is  settled,  the  net  gain  will  not  exceed 
$400,000. 

To  this  I  can  never  agree.  The  United  States  took  this  triLst  fund., 
and  with  it  purchased  Louisiana  and  Florida,  and  now  we  are  told 
they  have  had  the  use  of  the  money  for  nothing,  and  will  only  account  for 
the  principal. 

This  is  not  the  rule.  If  the  trustee  takes  the  trust  fund  and  trades  upon 
it,  he  must  account  to  the  eestuy  que  use.,  for  all  tl>e  profits  made. 

The  question  in  chahcery  would  be,  not  what  these  countries  cost,  but 
what  .they  are  worth. 

You  catmot  fix  a  price.  Louisiana  and  Florida !  The  sovereignty  and 
jurisdiction  over  them  alone.,  is  worth  more  to  this  Union,  than  all  the 
national  debt  we  ever  owed. 

How  much  duties  have  we  collected  from  their  ports  ?  How  much 
have  we  avoided  paying,  by  making  them  our  own,  instead  of  letting  them 
rem'ain  foreign  ports  ?  How  many  wars  have  we  avoided  by  their  pur- 
chase? In  short,  what  would  you  take  .for  them  ?  No  sum !  They  are 
beyond  price  to  the  rest  of  the  Union. 

On  this  part  of  the  subject,  the  question  with  me  is,  not  what  sum  we 
now  have  in  the  treasury,  which  was  received  for  the  sale  of  lands,  but 
whether  we  have  a  sum  in  the  treasuiy  equal  to  that  proposed  to  be  dis- 
tributed, over  and  above  all  that  is  necessary  to  be  appropriated  to  take 
care  of  the  great  interests  of  the  country.,  and  without  debiting  the 
States  with  the  sums  paid  for  Louisiana'  and  Florida,  because  I  am  sure, 
upon  a  fair  settlement,  the  sum  due  from  the  Union  is  at  least  equal  to 
the  sum  which  it  is  proposed  now  to  distribirte. 

"What  sum  have  we,  and  what  shaU  we  probably  receive,  in  the  course 
of  the  year? 

I  will  take  round  sums,  disregarding  fractions. 

"We  now  have  in  the  treasury $32,000,000 

Of  this  sum,  the  quarter  ending  31st  March,  produced 
$11,000,000.  Suppose  the  remaining  three  quarters  to  aver- 
age the  like  sum,  and  we  will  have  on  the  31st  December, 
more  by      .         . L    83,000,000 

Add  the  value  of  our  bank  stock 7,500,000 


Estimated  amount      ....     $72,500,000 
Deduct  for  falling  off  and  deficiencies     ,        .        .        .        5,500,000 

-  $67,000,000 


PUBLIC   LANDS   FOR   ACTUAL   SETTLERS.  213 

After  this  liberal  deduction  we  shall  have  sixty-seven  millions  at  the  end 
of  the  year.  ,^ 

Now  for  expenditures : 

The  ordinary  wants  of  the  government  ought  not  to  exceed  $15,000,000. 
Mr.  McLane,  in  the  report  of  1831,  to  which  I  have  adverted,  fixes  upon 
that  as  a  sum  amply  sufficient^  and  it  appears  to  me  in  all  conscience  it 
must  be  enough,  unless  our  prosperity  is  to  drive  us  into  most  mad 
excesses. 

Let  us,  then  take  this  as  the  9um.  necessary  for  our  ordi- 
nary expenses  in  the  course  of  the  year  ■     .         .         .         .     $15,000,000 

Add  to  this,  to  be  distributed  among  the  States       .         .       27,000,000 


These  two  sums  amount  to      ,         .         .         ...        .     $42,000,000 

Take  forty-two  millions  from  sixty-seven,  and  we  still  have  in  the 
treasury  ticenty-Jive  millions  of  dollars,  to  apply  to  any  extraordinary 
expenditures  for  the  army,  the  navy,  for  fortifications,  or  fo-r  any  other 
purpose  whatever. 

The  army  ought  to  be  increased  so  much  as  to  render  secxire  our  fron- 
tiers. The  increase  of  our  navy  may  be  hastened  to  some  extent ;  we 
ought  ultimately  to  have  a  naval  force,  more  than  able  to  chastise  and 
drive  o&  any  foreign  fleet  sent  to  MocMde,  or  seriously  to  infest  our  coast. 
Largelr  than  that  we  do  not  need,  and  ought  not  to  have,  if  it  were  given 
to  us. 

Fortifications  are  only  wanted  for  important  points,  at  which  an  enemy 
might  do  much  mischief  to  public  or,  to  private  property,  by  a  sudden 
incursion.  The  whole  coast  we  never  can,  and  should  never  attempt  to 
defend  by  fortifications. 

If  we  dp,  we  must' have  a  large  standing  army  to  defend  them  ;  other- 
wise they  will  be  applied  to  the  protection  of  our  enemies. 

We  are  told  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  in  a  document  before  me,  that 
Old  Point  Comfort  eovers  sixty-three  acres  of  ground,  and  to  protect  it 
by  an  adequate  force,  would  require  several  thousand  men. 

We  never  can,  we  never  ought  to  attempt  to  defend  our  whole  coast, 
by  so  many  fortifications,  as  will  require  any  considerable  increase  of  our 
army. 

If  we  do,  in  time  of  peace,  these  troops  will  come  on  days  of  election, 
and  as  they  a^e  hired  to  do  onv  fighting  they  will  do  our  voting  likewise, 
and  in  a  short  time  leave  us  nothing  worth  fortifying. 

Such  defences  are  contrary  to  the  spirit  and  genius  of  our  government, 
and  ought  never  to  be  countenanced,  or  tolerated  to  the  unreasonable 
extent,  which  some  appear  now  to  desire.  In  the  same  document  at 
pa*es  21,  22,  from  the  War  Department,  the  Secretary  says,  no  new  fOf- 
tification  ought  to  be  commenced  until  all  the  proposed  sites  are  re- 
surveyed  and  plans  devised  upon  a  suitable  scale,  and  recommends  a  board 


214  3VIEM0IK    OJ-    HUGH     LAWSON    WHITE. 

for  that  pnrpose,  which  -will  require  a  small  appropriation  of  thirty 
thousand  dollars. 

He  also  recommends  experiments  to  be  made  in  relation  to  steam,  or 
movable  batteries,  which  will  require  an  appropriation  of  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars. 

"Well  then,  if  w^  concur  with  the  Secretary,  we  want  at  present  no 
appropriation  for  new  fortifications,  but  these  two  suras  equal  to  on* 
hundred  and  tbirtj^  thousand  dollars  to  defray  the  expenses  of  a  board, 
and  the  experiments  of  which  I  have  spoken. 

As  to  the  fortifications,  now  in  progress^  let  such  increase  be  made  in 
the  appropriations,  as  can  reasonably  be  used  in  the  course  of  the  year. 

As  to  the  suggestion  made  that  we  ought,  at  once,  to  appropriate  a  sum 
large  enough  to  complete  the  vior\  although  it  may  be  five  or  ten  years 
before  it  can  be  completed,  I  do  not  think  it  ought  to  be  sanctioned.  It 
is  unnecessarily,  and  for  a  long  time,  putting  at  hazard  in  the  hands  of 
agents,  who  may  prove  faithless,  large  stims  of  money.  From  year  to 
year  let  the  appropriations  be  made,  and  thus  avoid  all  unnecessary  risk. 

According  to  this  same  document,  the  'expense  necessary  for  ordnance 
must  be  comparatively  trifling.  We  can  be  much  more  readily  supplied 
than  I  had  imagined. 

Upon  the  whole  I  think  all  the  reasonable  demands  for  the  army,  for 
the  navy,  for  fortifications,  ordnance,  and  other  munitions  of  war,  can  be 
supplied  without  making  any  serious  impression  upon  that  large  fond 
left  in  the  treasury,  after  providing  for  the  distribution,  as  proposed  in  this 
bill.  .    ,  .  - 

Allusion  has  been  made  to  matters  pending  before  us,  when  not  acting 
as  a  legislature,  which,  if  perfected,  may  occasion  a  considerable  increase 
of  expenditure. 

That  may  be  so ;  f  efr  we  must  remember  that  not  much  of  this  expen- 
diture will,  or  can  be  this  year,  oj*  the  next,  and  that  these  very  measures 
will  increase  our  resources,  if  not  entirely  equal  to  our  increased  expendi- 
tures, very  nearly  so.     These  matters^  therefore,  may  be  laid  aside. 

Another  project  for  ridding  the  treasury  of  its  surplus,  is  that  of 
placing  it  in  the  hands  of  Commissioners  of  the  Sinking  Fund,  and  autho- 
rizing them  to  vest  it  in  some  secure  stock,  yielding  a  reasonable  profit. 
This  might  do,  and  is  probably  intended  as  an  expedient  to  save  the 
money  from  loss ;  but  as  to  a  mode  of  lessening  the  fund,  it  would  be 
making  bad  worse,  it  would  be  devising  a  ^plan  to  increase  our  store, 
because  we  should  expect  a  return  of  the  principal  and  the  in  t&rest  pro- 
duced by  it. 

But  for  myself,  I  have  no  idea  of  sending  our  money  among  stock- 
jobbers, into  the  market,-  to  be  higgling  for  bargains,  which  in  one  way 
may  be  very  good,  and  in  some  other,-  very  bad.  Far  rather  would  I 
prefer  they  should  remain  where  they  now  are. 


PUBLIC   LANDS   FOR   ACTUAL   SETTLERS.  215 

The  last  sclieme  for  adoption  is,  that  from  the  Post  Office  Committee 
with  the  aid  of  steam.  With  the  aid  of  this  machinery,  I  have  very  little 
doubt  the  whole  can  be  accomplished  in  a  very  short  time. 

The  whole  of  this,  which,  without  intending  disrespect  to  the  Com- 
mittee, I  must  call  artful  contrivance,  is  neither  more  nor  less,  than  the 
old  system  of  internal  improvement^  with  federal  means,  and  ty  federal 
powei',  revived,  and  the  more  odious,  because  of  the  attempt  at  conceal- 
ment. The  old  system  has  the  merit  of  manliness.  Its  friends  think  the 
federal  government  has  the  power,  and  openly  arvow  that  they  will 
exercise  it,  because,  iii  doing  so,  they  promote  the  public  interest.  This 
geeks'  to  violate  the  Constitution  by  stealth,  and  the  contrivers  of  it  must 
think  the  device  is  so  artfully  concealed,  that  the  public  can  never  find 
out  the  design. 

Now,  sir,  I  think  it  perfectly  proper,  that  where  a  railroad  can  be  had, 
the  Postmaster  General  ought  to  have  the  power  to  contract  with  the  com- 
pany^ to  carry  his  mail,  and  I  understand  he  has  this  power  already; 
therefore,  as  to  existing  roads,  the  bill  will  be  of  no  use.  He  can  make 
just  as  good  acontract  without,  as  with,  this  bill. 

It  can  only  operate  on  roads  commenced  and  unfinished,  or  ones  being 
commenced.  How  then  will  it  operate?  Say  the  road  is  to  be  one 
hundred  miles  long,  and  ten  or  twenty  raiil^s  only  finished,  and"  the  com- 
pany to  need  funds,  they  make  a  contract  to  carry  the  mail,  and  receive 
at  once  out  of  the  treasury,  a  sum  of  money,  the  interest  on  which, 
yearly,  will  be  equal  to  the  sum  paid  yearly  in  time  past,  for  carrying  the 
mail;  with  this  money  the  company  are  to  progress,  and  make  another 
part  of  the  road,  then  the  contract  will  be  enlarged  on  the  same  princi- 
ples, an  additional  sum  paid,  and  thus  the  road  completed.  Can  this  be 
anything  but  an  enlarged,  masked  system  of  internal  improvement  ?  and 
if  the  charter  of  the  company  is  for  fifty  or  an  hundred  years,  or  for  ever, 
your  contracts  are  to  be  in  the  same  way.  To  carry  out  this  system, 
what  sum  would  it  probably  cost  ?     No  man  dares  to  offer  a  conjecture. 

To  enable  us  to  have  a  glimpse  of  it,  let  us  suppose  one  case.  Upon  a 
given  route  the  sunj  paid  for  carrying  the  mail  was.  twenty  thousand 
dollars  per  annum.  We  are  now  to  give  to  the  company  presently,  and 
to  be  retained  as  long  as  the  charter  lasts,  a  sum  which,  at  an  interest  of 
six  per  cent.,  will  produce  twenty  thousand  dollars  yearly. 

What  sum  would  that  be?  ■  No  less  than  three  hundred  and  thirty-three 
thousand  three  hundred  and  thirty-three  dollars  and  one-third. 

This  would  be  but  one  ronte,,  and  I  presume  of  the  middling  class,  and 
pray  what  sum  would  it  not  require,  to  spread  this  system  over  the  United 
States? 

Suppose  one  of  those  companies,^  directly  after  receiving  your  monej, 
to  fail,  and  decline  business,  what  then-?  We  must  lose  the  monej',  or  take 
the  road.     We  take  the  road  and  employ  managers,  and  hands  enough,  to 


216  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

carry  on  business,  on  our  own  account.  We  should  the^  have  a  little  army 
of  our  own,  moving  to  and  fro  by  steam.  Under  such  a  system,  we 
would  be  steamed  out  of  all  our  money,  all  our  character,  and  evei-ything 
but  a  handsome  addition  to  federaj  patronage. 

Adopt  this  plan,  and  my  word  for  it,  we  will  never  have  another  argu- 
ment on  the  subject  of  disposing  of  our  surplus  revenue:  it  will  be 
scattered  to  the  four  winds. 

As  this  project  is  brought  forward  by  a  friend  of  the  Administration, 
it  is  supposed  to  be  an  Administration  measure ;  by  this  I  mean,  a 
measure  approved  by  the  President.  How  this  fact  may  be,  1  do  not 
profess  to  know,  but  I  have  seen  enough  in  my  day  here,  to  satisfy  me, 
that  it  is  very  unfair,  that  every  measure  brought  forward,  and  adyoca,ted 
by  members  professing  to  be  friends  of  the  Administration,  should  be 
considered  as  having  the  sanction  of  the  President.  I  know  not  what  his 
opinions  on  such  subjects  are  now ;  I  know  what  they  hme  leen^  and 
until  informed  in  some  authentic  mode,  they  have  been  changed,  I  esteem 
it  fair  to  suppose  they  remain  unchanged. 

Let  us  hear  him  speak  for  himself,  in  two  of  his  communications.  In 
his  annual  message,  1830,  the  President  says: 

In  speaking  of  direct  appropriations,  I  mean  to  include  a  practice,  which  has  obtained  to 
some  extent,  and  to  which  I  have  in  one  instance,  in  a  different  capacity,  given  my  assent — 
that  of  subscriljing  to  the  stocli  of  private  associations.  Positive  experience,  and  a  more 
thorough  consideration  of  the  subject,  have  convinced  me  of  the  impropriety,  as  well  as  In-ex- 
pediency,  of  such  investments.  AU  improvements  effected  by  the  funds  of  the  nation,  for 
general  use,  should  be  open  to  the  enjoyment  of  all  our  fellow-citizens,  except  from  the  pay- 
ment of  toUs,  or  any  imposition  of  that  character. 

Same  message,  he  says  farther  : 

That  such  improvements,  on  account  of  particular  circumstances,  may  be  more  advantage- 
ously and  beneficially  made  in  some  States  than  in  others,  is  doubtless  true;  but  that  they  are 
of  a  character  which  should  prevent  an  equitable  distribution  of  the  public  funds  amongst  the 
several  States,  is  not  to  be  concluded. 

We  have  it  constantly  before  our  eyes,  that  professions  of  superior' zeal  in  the  cause  of  inter- 
nal improvement,  and  a  disposition  to  lavish  the  public  funds  upon  objects  of  that  character, 
are  daily  and  earnestly  put  forth  by  aspirants  to  power,  as  constituting  the  highest  claims  to 
the  confidence  of  the  people.  Would  it  be  strange,  under  such  circumstances,  and  in  times  of 
great  excitement,  that  grants  of  this  description  should  find  their  motives  in  objects  which  may 
not  accord  with  the  public  good.  Those  who  have  not'  had  occasion  to  see,  and  regret,  the 
indication  of  a  sinister  influence,  in  these  matters,  in  time  past,  have  been  more  fortunate  than 
myself,  in  their  observation  of  the  cause  of  human  affairs. 

In  his  message  of  1832,  he  says : 

I  recommend  that  provision  be  made  to  dispose  of  all  stocks,  now  held  by  it  (the  govern- 
ment), in  corporations,  whether  created  by  the  generafor  State  governments,  and  placing  the 
proceeds  in  the  treasury.  As  a  source  Of  profit,  these  stock  are  of  little,  or  no,  value;  as  a 
means  of  influence  among  the  States,  they  are  adverse  to  the  purity  of  our  institutions. 
The  whole  principle  on  wliich  they  are  based,  is  deemed  by  many  unconstitutional,  and  tp 
persist  in  the  policy  which  they  indicate,  is  considered  wholly  inexpedient." 


PUBLIC   LANDS   FOR   ACTUAL   SETTLEKS.  217 

Are  we  to  infer,  after  this,  that  he  would  approve  of  this  plan  ?  I 
think  not.  To  me,  it  appears  much  more  probable,  were  we  to  pass 
such  a  bill  as  this,  that  it  would  be  vetoed  by  him,  than  that  he  should 
negative  the  distribution  bill,  when, he  would  reflect  upon  the  altered 
f^tate  of  things,,  since  that  subject  was  acted  on  by  him. 

Such  a  system  as  this  would  be  one  of  intei-nal  improvement,  with  the 
moneys,  and  under  the  patronage  of  the  federal  government.  It  would 
be  for  the  benefit  of  companies,  some  of  whose  charters  may  be  for  long 
periods,  as  without  limit  as  to  time,  they  would  still  continue  to  receive 
toll  from  the  people. 

It  would  operate  partially  and  unjust  to  the  different  sections  of  the 
country.     Some  would  receive  plenty ;  others  none. 

Instead  of  trying  to  rid  the  government  of  all  connection  with  stoch 
companies^  we  Avould  be  forming  more  extensive  and  dangerous  connec- 
tions than  have  ever  been  thought  of  in  tim«  past.  I  therefore  conclude, 
such  a  scheme,,  however  plausible  at  first  view,  can  never  ultimately  find 
favor  from  any  majority  in  Congress. 

I  will  now  advert  to  some  of  the  strongest  objections  which  I  have 
heard,  to  the  policy  of  distribution. 

It  is  thought  a  system  of  distribution  will  make  the  States  feel  depend- 
ent on  the  federal  government,  and  induce  them  to  engage  in  enterprises 
not  necessary,  and  beyoud  then-  fair  means. 

Ought  Ave  not  to  remember  that  it  is  the  same  people,  who  are  repre- 
sented, both  in  the  State  and  federal  legislatures  ?  That  they  are 
competent  tp  understand  their  own  rights,,  and  have  the  power  to  com- 
pel obedience  to  their  will,  by  tteir  representatives  at  home  as  well  as 
here? 

"Will  they  not  know  that  the  money  distributed  is  their  own  money, 
not  a  boon  i'rom  Congress  ?  How  then  will  they  feel  dependent  upon 
those  who  have  dyne  them  no  favor,  but  the  simple  act  of  justice,  of  pay- 
ing them  their  oicn  money,  in  place  of  keeping  it  locked  up,  or  having  it 
wasted  by  others. 

If  the  people  are  capable  of  self-government,  theymust  be  capable  of 
understanding  their  own  rights,  and  pursuing  their  own  interests.  They 
will- not  view  this  as  a  boon,  but  as  a  delivery  to  them  of  that  which  is 
their  own.  They  will  never  look  to  distribution  as  a  regular  and  certain 
resource  for  State  purposes,  but  as  an  incidental  addition  to  their  other 
means,-  which  Avill  enable  them  to  carry  on  with  more  vigor,  any  plan, 
which  in  their  wisdom  may  be  devised,  for  improving  their  country,  or 
increasing  the  means  of  education. 

Again.  It  is  said  the  7iew  States  may  justly  fear  that  distribution  will 
induce  the  old  States  to  keep  the  price  of  lands  higli,  and  thereby  check 
settlements  in  them. 

It,  appears  to  me  theT%;an  be  no  real  foundation  for  ahy  alarm  on  this 


218  MEMOIR    01"    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

account.  The  new  States  no-w  form  a  Very  respectable  minority.  That 
minority  will  soon  be  increased  to  the  number  of  ten  or  el«-ven.  If  we 
are  lit  to  live  together  under  one  general  government,  there  never  can, 
there  never  will,  come  a  time,  when  so  large  a  minority  cannot  prevail 
upon  enough  to  make  up  a  majority,  to  do  that  which  is  not  only  just, 
but  liberal  to  them.  % 

Nothing  can  be  so  likely  to  prevent  this,  as  a  contracted  and  illiberal 
policy  on  their  part.  If  they  prevent  distribution,  and  thus  prevent 
others  from  attaining  any  participation  in  a  common  fund,  and  this  with 
a  view  to  benefit  themselves,  may  they  not  destroy  all  disposition  to 
meliorate  their  condition?  Will  it  not  be  more  wise  in' them,  to  let 
that,  which  can  well  be  spared  from  the  proceeds  of  the  public  lands,  be 
distributed,  and  with  their  fair  proportion  of  it,  in  common  with  other 
States,  go  on  and  make  such  internal  improvements  as  the  interest  of 
their  people  demands,  and  rely  upon  the  justice  of  Congress,  from  time 
to  time,  to  make  such  reductions  in  the  price  of  the  public  lands,  in 
favor  of  actual  settlers^  as  the  interests  of  the  new  States  may  require  ? 

For  one,  having  been  raised,  and  having  lived  in  a  new  State,  and 
knowing  the  diflBculties  they  have  to  encounter,  my  feelings  have  been 
with  them,  and,  since  honored  with  a  place  here,  I  have  ever  been 
disposed  by  my  votes  to  favor  their  wishes  and  interests,  so  far  as  it 
could  consistently  be  done.  I  hope  still  to  do  so,  let  them  pursue  what 
course  they  may. 

Either  now,  or  at  any  subsequent  time,  I  am  ready  to  vote  a  reducticm 
of  the  price  of  the  public  lands,  in  favor  of  the  actual  settler^  the  culti- 
vator of  the  .soil;  but  not  to  favor  the  speculator— Ai&  ^ho  yfovAd  buy 
largely  at  a  small  2^rice,  to  sell  to  the  settler  in  small  quantities  at  a 
high  2ir  ice. 

Of  all  the  evils  which  can  befall  a  new  State,  none  is  greater,  than  to 
reduce  the  price  so  low  as  to  eflCoupage  individuals  or  companies  to 
purchase  large  quantities  of  the  pubHc  domain.'  They  will  be  held  up 
for  increased  jyrices,  and  effectually  check  the  growth,  the  prosperity, 
and  wealth  of  any  State,  where  such  policy  is  pursued. 

But  the  actual  seUler  may  well  be  favored  by  procuring  a  home  of  his 
own,  at  a  low-price,  where  he  can  cultivate  his  Own  soil,  and  independ- 
ently of  all  others,  maintain  his  family. 

•  I  voted  yesterday  against  the  amendment  of  the  .senator  from  Missis- 
sippi, because  it  did  not  provide,  for  actual  settlers,  only  for  thos'e  who 
represented  that  they  wished  to  become  settlers.  Let  lands  be  entered 
upon  such  statements,  and  those  who  entered  them  woidd,  in  many 
cases,  soon  change  their  minds,  and  some  speculator  would  be  found  to 
be  the  true  owner,  at  the  reduced  p)rice. 

Whenever  the  lands  have  been  so  long  in  market,  at  a  reasonable 
price,  as  to  show  that  they  are  not  of  value  to  the  general  governmieut, 


PUBLIC   LANDS    FOK   ACTUAL    SETTLERS.  219 

IqI  tiiora  be  transferred  upon  some  fair  terms  to    the  States   iu  17111011 
tliey  respectively  lie. 

Ill  the  State  which  I  have  the  honor  in  part  to  represent,  the  United 
States  now  own  some  lands,  which  never  have  been,  and  never  can  be, 
brought  into  market  by  them,  so  as  to  produce  any  benefit  Avhatever; 
^to  the  State  they  would  be  worth  something ;  there  is  now  a  bill  pend- 
ing in  the  other  house,  which  has  for  its  object  their  transfer  to  the 
State,  and  if-  it  reaches  the  Senate,  which  I  hope  it  sQon  will,  it  is 
believed  we  shall  be  able  to  show  the  propriety  of  passing  it. 

Let  us  now  roflect  a  little  on  some  of  the  advantages  which  will  flow 
from  the  passage  of  this  bill. 

In  the  first  place  we  shall  do  that  which  is  an  act  of  justice  to  the 
individual  States.  Several  of  them,  my  cnva  among  the  rest,  have  never 
received  a  dollar  from  th©  federal  government,  while  others  have 
received  large  donations  ia  lands,  or  in  money. 

In  some  States,  opposed  to  internal  improvements  by  the  federal 
government,  no  contributions  have  been  made  for  eithe;*  roads  or 
canals,  while  in  others  large  sums  have  been  expended. .  This  inequality 
has  produced  heart-burnings  and  discontents.  Give  to  each  its  own 
proportion  of  this  fund,  to  use  as  it  pleases,  and  this  cause  of  discontent 
will  be- removed. 

Each  State  is  the  proper  judge  what  ought  to  be  done  witli  its  own 
money.  I  am,  therefoi-e,  oi)posed  to  giving  any  direction  as  to  the 
objects  to  which  it  shall  be  applied :  but  I  have  no  doubt,  in  most 
instances,  it  will  be  expended  either  in  internal  improvements,  or  in  the 
business  of  education. 

I  liave  been  one  of  those,  whe  do  not  believe  the  federal  government 
has  the  power  to  carry  on  a  sysUm  of  internal  improvements  within  the 
States  ;  and  I  shall  now  think  it  peculiarly  hard,  when  we  find  a  large 
sum  of  money,  which  we  have  the  power  to  distribute,  if  it  should  be 
taken,  and  wasted  upon  remote  and  distant  objects,  and  my  State  receive 
nothing.  I'  should  consider  myself  criminally  negligent,  if  I"  did  not 
urge  the  necessity  of  giving  that,  which  I  think  is  justly  our  due. 

By  making  this  distribution  we  -shall  withdraw  from  the  deposit  banks 
a  large  sum  of  money,  now  locked  up  from  the  common  and  beneficial 
pursuits  of  life,  and  put  it  in  cireulation,  not  in  one  State  or  place  in  par- 
ticular, but  in  every  State  in  the  Union,  so  that  its  beneficial  etfects  will 
be  felt  by  all. 

Now,  if  this  money  is  loaned  by  the  banks,  it  is  evident  t©  my  mind, 
the  loans  are  not  made  to  commercial  men,  accustomed  to  bank  accom- 
modations, but  to  companies,  engaged  in  speculations  in  our  most  valua- 
ble public  lands ;  by  means  of  these  loans,  the  honest  settler  is  driven 
off  from  your  public  sales,  or  is  forced  to  join  some  Company,  for  the 
sake  of  enabling  himself  to  procure,  at  a  Mr  price,  the  small  piece  of 
land  on  which  he  has  settled. 


220  MEMOm    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

Formerly,  we  sold  the  public  lands  upon  credit ;  ■  wliile  that  was  tho 
case,  companies  were  formed,  and  speculations  carried  to  a  great  extent, 
I  attended  one  of  those  sales,  and  saw  enough  to  satisfy  me,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent, that  if  you  and  I  could  unite  our  capacity  for  .business,  we  would 
not  then  be  able  to  purchase,  at  its  value,  a  section  of  land.  The  specu- 
lators would  force  us-  to  join  them,  or  drive  us  out  of  the  market.  They 
would  tell  us  the  land  we  desii-ed  to  purchase  was  Avorth  ten  dollars  per 
acre,  and  if  we  Avould  give  them  the  difference  between  the  sum  we  had 
to  give  at  sale,  and  ten  dollars,  then  we  might  buy,  otherwise  they 
would  run  it  up  to  twenty  dollars  per  acre ;  and  they  would  keep  their 
word,  if  we  did  not  come  to  terms  ;  if  we  did,  then  we  could  bid  off  the 
land  at  a  dollar  and  a  quarter,  which  we  would  pay  to  -the  government^ 
and  in  addition  we  would  pay  the  company  eight  and  three  quarter  dol- 
lars per  acre. 

The  Congress  determined  to  break  up  these  speculations,  by  requiring 
cash  payments.  It  worked  very  well  till  lately.  Within  the  last  year, 
the  land  speculations  are  revived  ta  a  fearful  extent.  Now, what  is 
probably  the  cause  ?  These  large  sutos,  so  long  on  deposit.,  enable  the 
banks  to  make  to  these  companies  large  loans  on  -long  credits^  and  with 
the  money  thus  borrowed.,  your  best  lands  are  sacrificed.  Tliis  is  nothing 
but  the  credit  system  7'evived  in  a  new  shape.  Formerly,  the  goveqinieut 
itself,  openly  gavecredit — now  the  banks  give  the  credit,  but  the  govern- 
ment furnishes  the  funds  ichich  enable  them  to  do  so.  This  is  a  growing 
evili  It  is  like  rolling  a  snow-ball ;  every  turn  makes  it  larger,  and  if 
not  checked,  we  shall  soon  have  this  matter  carried  to  an  extent,  Avhich 
will  make  the  mischief  incurable.  Divide  this  money,  and  we  take. from 
the  banks  the  power  of  making  these  loans,  and  your  lands  Avill  be  pur- 
chased ia fact,  as  Avell  as  inform,  for  money. 

Beside  these  considerations,  we  shall  prevent  our  deposit  banks  from 
overtrading  to  an  unreasonable  extent.  If  these  speculations  are  to  be 
persisted  in,  a  day  of  reckoning  will  come.  If  a  run  Js- made  on  your 
banks,  which  they  cannot  stand,  we  not  only  lose  our  money  on  deposit, 
but  what  is  infinitely  worse,  we  bring  upon  the  country  the  evil.s  of  a 
depreciated  currency.,  which  always  fall  most  heavily  upon  those  least 
able  to  bear  the  loss. 

Pass  this  bill,  and  we  not  only  avoid  these  evils,  but  we  furnish'  each 
State  with  the  strongest  inducements  to  aid  your  banks,  in  maintaining 
a  sound  and  loholesome  currency ;  with  their  proper  proportions  of  which, 
when  received,  I  have  no  doubt,  all  will  make  judicious  internal  improve- 
ments, and  take  care  to  have  the  business  of  education  suitably  encour- 
aged. 

When- the  leadinof  measure  of  Mr.  Van  Buren's  administration,  the 
Sub-Treastiry  bill,  was  before  the  Senate  in  1838,  and  was  discussed 
by  some  of  the  ablest  men  in  that  body,  he  again  avowed  himself  an 


SUB-TKEASURY   BILL.  '  221 

enemy  to  '^'^ federal  incorporated  banks^''  and  '■'•federal  hills  of  credit!!'' 
He  opposed  this  measure  principally  upon  the  ground  that  it  ^Yas 
putting  the  control  of  the  whole  moneyed  capital  of  the  country  into 
the  hands  of  the  executive ;  and  that,  especially  in  view  of  the  un- 
willingness of  the  executive  to  have  the  powers  and  patronage  of  the 
government  curtailed,  such  a  control  was  hazardous  to  the  prosperity 
of  our  free  institutions.  On  this  subject  he  spoke  as  follows,  March 
24th,  1838: 

Mr.  President :  I  address  you  under  circumstances  of  peculiar  disad- 
vautage.  The  subject  is  one  of  the  greatest  importance.  It  has  been  long 
discussed,  ably  discussed,  by  those  of  most  distinguished  .talents.  Their 
highest  efforts  have  been  made  on  both  sides  to  present  its  advantages 
and  disadvantages  in  every  view  the  human  mind  can  take  of  it.^ 

The  crowded  audience  has  become  wearied,  and  even  many  senators 
themselves  can  hardly  give  respectful  attention  to  our  most  interesting 
debates. 

Up  to  the  termination  of  the  last  address  of  the  distinguished  senator 
from  Massachusetts  who  sits  nearest  to  me  (Mr.  Webster),  I  was  not 
satisfied  whether  it  would  be  my  duty  to  do  more  than  listen  respectfully 
to  others,  .and  then  say  yea  or  nay  to  the  dilferent  questions  presented  to 
the  Senate. 

At  the  close  of  his  animated,  able,  and  interesting  speech,  he  recurred 
to  a  sera}}  of  the  history  of  my  own  State,  fifty  years  ago.  Instantly  my 
mind  settled  down  in  the  conviction  that  my  constituents  had  a  right  to 
expect  more  of  a  son  of  one  of  the  actors  in  that  scene  'than  a  bare  vote. 

I  promise  those  who  may  favor  me  with  their  attention,  that  if  what  I 
say  should  not  be  interesting,  it  shall  not  be  tedious. 

The  advocates  of  this  bill  expect  to  accomphsh  two  objects  by  its 
passage : 

1st.  To  designate  the  only  species  of  funds  which  shall  be  received  in 
payment  of  any  dues  to  the  government. 

2d.  To  designate  the  persons  by  whom,  and  the  places  where,  those 
moneys  shall  be  kept,  between  the  time  of  their  collection  and  disburse- 
ment. 

The  provisions,  as  to  the  first,  are,  that  after  the  lapse  of  six  years 
nothing  shall  be  received  but  gold  and  silver,  and  such  ixqyer  as  shall  be 
issued  by  or  under  the  authority  of  the  federal  government ;  and,  in  the 
mean  time,  Ithat  certain  proportions  may  be  received  in  the  notes  of 
specie-paying  banks. 

1st.  My  first  objection  to  this  plan  is,  that  it  sets  out  with  a  distinction 
in  favor  of  those  who  are  in  the  employment  of  the  federal  government, 
or'  have  any  money  to  receive  from  it,  and  those  who  are  in  the  employ 


222  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH     LA^WSON    WHITE. 

of  the  State  governments,  as  well  as  the  mass  of  the  people.  The  dis- 
tinction is  odious,  and  ought  not  to  be  sanctioned. 

Senators  who  support  this  bill  say  these  ai-e  mere  catch-words  (one 
kind  of  money  for  the  government,  and  another  for  the  people),  of  which 
all  have  become  ashamed,  and  that  latterly  they  have  been  driven  out  of 
the  Senate. 

To  this,  I  reply,  the  gentlemen  are  mistaken;  this  distinction  is  made 
on  the  very  face  of  the  bill,  in  terms  too  plain  to  be  ijiisunderstood. 

If  all  the  money  mentioned  is  of  equal  value,  why  mentioii  gold  and 
silver,  treasury  notes,  notes  of  specie-paying  banks,  &c.  ?  The  whole 
argument  in  favor  of  the,  bill  rests  on  the  supposition  that  gold  and  silver 
are  the  best,  and  that^  as  far  as  it  goes,  is  to  be  used  for  federal  officers 
and  those  who  have  federal  contracts,  leaving  to  othei-s  to  get  what  they 
can  and  how  they  can. 

2d.  The  bill  itself  contemplates  a  paper  medium  emanating  from  the 
federal  government.  To  this  I  object,  because  we  have  no  power  to 
issue  it.  As  a  currency,  they  are  bills  of  credit,  unconstitutional ;  more 
clearly  so  than  to  incorpoi'ate  a  bank ;  and  because,  if  we  can  issue  such  a 
medium,  we  ought  never  to  do  it.  It  will  lead  to  the  most  wasteful  and 
extravagant  expenditures.  It  will  l^e  used  moderately  at  first,  until  the 
people  become  reconciled  to  it,  and  then  gradually  extended  in  place  of 
borrowing  money,  so  as  to  meet  all  the  calls  of  an  ,extravagfint  adminis- 
tration, and  must  end  in  a  large  national  debt,  or  depreciate  like  your 
continental  money. 

Many,  with  great  reason,  have  believed  that  no  government  can  long 
be  economical  upon  even  a  system  of  indii'ect  taxation.  That  under  such 
a  system,  the  people  generally  are  not  conscious  of  the  burden  they  bear. 
They  pay  their  taxes  when  they  buy  their  clothes,  or  other  articles,  on 
which  duties  are  imposed,  without  reiiecting  that  any  part  of  the  money 
they  thus  expend  comfes  into  the  treasury ;  they  tlierefore  cease  to  be 
watchful  over  the  manner  in  which  the  public  moneys  ^re  expended ; 
and,  whenever  they  cease  to  keep  strict  watch,  their  'agents  commence 
useless  and  wasteful  expenditures.  But  when  the  taxes  are  direct,  every 
man  knows  how  much  he  pays,  and  when  he  pays,  and  will  carefully 
watch  how  the  moneys  are  expended ;  and  if  the  expenditures  are  wasteful 
or  extra\tigant,  a  suitable  corrective  will  be  immediately  applied.  Our 
whole  system  of  federal  taxation  is  in  the  general  indirect ;  and,  if  we 
once  commence  a  system  of  supplying  deficiencies  in  the  treasury  by  an 
issue  of  paper  to  be  used  as  currency^  the  country  may  be  ruined. 

At  the  special  session  we  were  obliged  to  add  ten  millions  of  dollars  to 
our  means.  This  we  did  not  do  by  a  direct  loan,  which  every  man  could 
understand,  but  by  authorizing  an  i&sne  of  treasury  notes.  "When  that 
bill  was  before  Jhe  Senate,  the  senator  from  Missouri,  and,  if  I  mistake 
uot,  the  senator  from  Pennsylvania,  both  friends  of  the  Administration, 


BUB-TREASUEY    BILL.  223 

placed  these  notes  on  tlie  ground  of  making  a  loan ;,  that  they,  as  they 
•were  to  bear  an  interest  not  exceeding  five  per  cent,  would  be  disposed 
of  for  money,  and  with  the  money  thus  procured,  our  creditors  could  be 
paid ;  and  in  this  view  I  voted  forthe  bill.  In  the  House  the  amount  of 
the  notes  was  reduced  one-hailf,  and  I  soon  perceived  that  the  Administra- 
tion intended  to  use  them,  not  to  procure  a  loan,  but  as  a  currency ;  and 
when  the  bill  was  returned  to  us,  I  took  the  earliest  opportunity  to  record 
my  vote  against  it.  The  notes  issued  under  that  bill  have  in  fact  been 
vsed  as  a  currency .,  and  at  various  rates  of  interest,  some  as  low  as  one 
mill  per  year. 

This  year  our  revenue  is  again  to  be  deficient ;  we  will  need,  in  addi- 
tion to  our  means  in  the  treasury,  ten,  fifteen,  or  twenty  millions  of  dol- 
lars ;  and  this  addition  will  be  made  by  new  issues.  This  paper  currency 
seems  to  cost  nothing ;  and,  as  our  wants  iricrease,  the  issues  will  be 
increased^  until  the  paper  depreciates  ;  and  then,  for  the  first  time,  the 
people  will  seriously  look  into  the  manner  in  which  not  only  their  money ^ 
but  their  credit  has  been  squandered. 

The  provisons  of  this  bill  for  treasury  notes,  bills,  or  oth^v- securities., 
issued  iy  the  federal  government.,  or  under  its  authority,  if  sanctioned  by 
Congress,  will  settle  a  principle  which,  if  carried  into  practice,  must  seal 
the  fate  of  this  nation.  Office-holders  and  oflSce-hunters  can  all  be 
accommodated  by  the  executive  at  the«public  expense,  and  the  people  will 
not  be  aAvare  of  it  until  too  late.  In  short,  it  will  take  off  almost  the 
only  restraint  which  yet  remains  to  our  exti-avagant  expenditures. 

This  view  of  the  subject  has  alarmed  me.  Dq  we  not  all  see  and  know 
that  those  in  office  ai-e  pressing  to  have  their  salaries  increased  ?  That 
those  who  are  not,  desire  the  number  o^  offices  increased  that  they  may 
get  in?  "We  are  teased  to  increase  the  number'of  land  districts;  and  if 
we  do,  offices  are  multiplied.  When  all  the  offices  among  the  whites 
are  filled,  then  we  have  among  our  red  brethren  exploring  parties,  visit- 
ing parties,  commissioners  and  agents,  by  construction,  at  executive  dis- 
scretion,  and  compensated  as  he  pleases. 

With  the  facilities  of  paper  money  to  be  created  for  the  trouble  of  mak- 
ings-importunities  for  offices,  jobs,  contracts  and  increa,se  of  salary,  will 
be  multiplied,  and  the  President  will  not  have  the  heart  to  resist  them 
when  artfully  pressed  by  noisy  and  worthless  partisans.  I  have  been 
forcibly  struck  with  some  of  the  remarks  made  upon  the  subject  of  this 
government  paper  currency.  The  honoi*able  senator  from  South  Caro- 
lina (Mr.  Calhoun)  thinks  it  will  not  depreciate,  and  if  it  does,  it  will  not 
make  any  difference,  as  the  government'  must  always  receive  it  at  par, 
and  therefore  sustain  the  whole  loss. 

Mr.  President,  if  the  honorable  senator  will  take  a  moment  to  ttiink 
upon  this  subject,  I  am  convinced  he  will  perceive  the  error.  No  paper 
currency,  not  convertible  into  specie  at  the  will  of  the  holder,,  ever  did  or 
ever  will  long  retain  its  nominal  value. 


224  MEMOm    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

If  a  man  has  a  note  of  any  kind,  and  has  confidence  that  he  can  get 
the  amount  of  it  in  specie  at  any  time  he  pleases,  most  generally  he  would 
rather  have  the  note  than  specie,  because  more  convenient;  but  the 
moment  he  doubts,  then  he  wants  the  specie  presently.  In  the  issue  of 
treasury  notes,  that  moment  the  amount, issued  much  exceeds  the  revenue 
to  be  paid  into  the  treasury,  and  the  purchase  of  public  lands,  they  must 
and  will  depreciate,  unless  provision  is  made  that  they  shall  be  paid  when 
presented  at  the.  treasury.  When  they  do  depreciate,  the  whole  loss  will 
not  fall  on  the  treasury,  but  will  fall  likewise  on  those  through  whose 
hands  they  have  passed.  The  very  case  put  by  the  senator  proves  it. 
A  treasury  note  issues  for  fifteen  dollars.  It  depreciates  until  it  can  be 
purchased  in  market  for  ten.  Some  per-son  who  owes  the  treasury  fifteen 
dollars,  goes  aild  purchases  it  at  ten,  and  pays"  his  debt  of  :^fteen  dollars. 
Now  does  not  every  one  perceive  that  the  profit  of  five  dollars,  made  by 
the  man  who  paid  the  note  to  the  treasury,  must  have  been  a  loss  of  the 
same  amount  to  the  man  from  whom  he  purchased,  or  to  some  other  per- 
son through  whose  hands  it  has  passed  ?  In  all  such  casesj  profit  and  loss 
are  correllative  terms,  an'd  that  which  is  one  maaV)  gain  juust  iave  been 
a  loss  to  some  other. 

As  you  increase  expenditures  you  increase  executive  power,  already 
too  great.  The  President  or  those  acting  under  his  orders,  must  neces- 
sarily select  the  recipients,  who,  it  will  always  be.  understood,  can  only 
be  those  who  conform  to  his  wishes  in  elections.  These  objections  are 
independent  of  the  consideration  whether  this  bill  wiU  establish  a  bank 
or  not.  It  will  certainly  sanction  the  issuing  a  paper  medium  of  circula- 
tion. Those  who  advocate  this  provision  certainly  think  as  I  do,  tliat 
the  country  must  and  always  will  have  bank  credits,  or  paper  of  some 
kind,  to  use  as  a  substitute  for  the  precioug  metals.  The  business  of  the 
country  can  never  be  done  without  it.  A  support  of  the  State  banks  is 
the  only  shield  which  can  be  presented  against  federal  bills  of  credit,  and 
Si  federal  incorjporated  hanlc. 

I  hold  both  these  last  unconstitutional,  and  the  fii*st  of  them  infinitely 
the  most  dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  the  people.  In  183-i,  I  heard  of 
this  plan  of  separating  government  from  all  ianlcs  as  depositories^  and 
thought  well  of  it.  Indeed,  I  would  then  have  gone  for  it,  if  political 
friends  had  agreed  upon  it.  Then  there  was  no  idea  of  issuing  iKhper 
money  by  government.  "Then  State  hanks  were  paying  specie,  and  their 
notes  would  have  continued  a  circulating  medium.  Then  I  had  confidence 
in  the  Administration,  and  believed  that  none. would  evei*  daro  to  interfere 
with  the  elective  franchise,  or  to  refuse  to  have  the  executive  patronage 
limited  and  curtailed  by  law.  Now  all  these  things  are  changed.  The 
Administration  want  paper  money  issued  by  government,  substituted  for 
loans.  The  State  banks  are  not  paying  specie,  and  this  bill  forbids  the 
receipt  of  their  notes. 

The  executive  is  disposed  to  hunt  down  any  and  every  man  who  wislies 


SUB-TEEASUKY   BILL.  225 

to  limit  his  power.  He  openly  interferes  in  elections,  botli  State  and 
federal,  and  nses  all  his  powers  to  have  them  carried  according  to  his 
■will.  Under  these  circumstances,  in  my  judgment,  I  would  be  a  traitor 
to  civil  liberty  were  I  to  sanction  the  idea  that  Ave  will  make  federal 
paper  the  circulating  medium. 

"What  has  become  of  our  bills,  five  or  six  in  number,  to  limit  executive 
patronage,  reported  in  the  days  of  the  younger  Adams  ?  They  sleep  the 
sleep  of  death.  The  honorable  chairman  of  the  committee,  who  originally 
reported  them,  felt  it  his  duty  to  endeavor' to"  revive  them  under  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  late  President,  and  received  so  little  countenance  frctai 
old  friencis  that  he  ceased  his  struggle  with  them. 

The  honorable  senator  from  South  Carolina,  who  never  thinks  any  load 
too'  heavy,  took  up  one  of  them,  and  made  one  of  his  most  powerful 
efforts,  and  it-passed  this  body.  But  how  many  old  friends  voted  for  it? 
Sir,  all  had  been  whistlied  or  ordered  off,  except  the  senator  from  Missouri, 
and  one  or  two  others. 

I  havie  been  honored  with  a  seat  here  for  the  thirteen  or  fourteen  last 
sessions,  and  believe  J  havg  never  once  recurred  to  the  journals  to  see 
how  any  gentleman  had  voted ;  but  there  are  some  things  ,1  find  it  im- 
possible to  forget. 

"VVhep  that  bill  was  before  the  Senate,  believihg  that  I  cotild  give  the 
senator  from  South  Carolina  something  more  than  my  vote,  I  made  a 
speech  in  its  favor ;  and  that  speech  sealed  my  fate  with  the  great  demo- 
cratic party.  I  respectfully  ask  the  senator  from  Missouri,  whether  any 
of  the  former  friends  of  that  measure,  the  Jackson  democrats,  voted  for 
it,  except  he  and  myself? 

It  went  to  the  other  house,  and  as  they  were  more  fresh  from  the  people 
than  we,  better  understood  what  is  meant  by  modem  democracy,  they 
put  this  aristocratic  bantling  to  sleep ;  and  we  have  never  heard  a  cry  or 
even  a  whimp6rfrom  it  stnce.  Since  then,  executive  power  and  patron-' 
age  have  put  forth  their  branches  in  every  direction,  and  no  man  dare 
raise  his  voice  against  them  oh  pain  of  political  death. 

Shall  we  then  put  this  rich  bed  of  manure  to  the  root  of  this  dangerous 
power,  that  tlie  ci'ops  of  executive  influence  may  be*  increased  in  our 
elections  ?     Nay ;  God  forbid ! 

I  have  been  zealous  for  putting  down  the  Bank  of  the'tlnited  States, 
and  for  maintaining  a  sound  metallic  currency,  and,  to  do  this,  believed 
we  ought  to  sustain,  as  far  as  we  could.  State  banks ;  prevailing  on  them, 
by  all  incidental  means  rn  our  power,  to  cease  the  use  of  small  notes,  and 
had  hoped  we  could  have  succeeded :  but  specie  payments  have  been 
suspended,  and  the  advocates  of  this  bill  say  we  must  try  some  other 
experiment. 

Divorce,  divorce,  a  vinculo  matrimonii  is  the  watchword  whenever 
you  find  a  modern  democrat. 

15 


226  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

That  there  is  a  divorce  a  mensa  et  thoro  existing,  I  admit,  hut  am  of 
opinion  that  it  has  been  produced  by  violent  temiier^  and  want  of  due  ca/re 
on  the  pai't  of  the.  federal  head^  and  too  yielding  ai;id  complying  a  disposi- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  banks,  and  that  the  whole  might  yet  be  reconciled, 
at  all  events  to  the  advantage  of  the  family. 

I  have  heard  of  cases  where  a  dashing  libertine  married  a  wife,  attached 
to,  an-d  every  way  worthy  of  him ;  that  he,  upon  looking  farther  into 
the  world,  concluded  that  if  he  were  freed  from,  his  first  love,  he 
could  be  better-  suited  on  a  second  experiment ;  and,  with  a  view  to 
obtain  a  divorce,  threw  temptations  in  his  wife's  way  which  she  had  not 
stern  virtue  enough  to  resist;  she  sinned,  and  tlien  he  applied  for  a 
divorce.  And  what  have  courts  of  conscience  said  in  such  cases  ?  De- 
part hence-I  you  have  eontributed  to  your  wife's  transgression,  and  shall 
not  profi|;  by  your  own  iniquity. 

Apply  these  principles  to  this  case.  "When  the  Qxecutive  wooed  and 
won  the  State  banks,  they  were  pure  and  unsullied-  Their  utmost  exer- 
tions were  necessary  to  aid  in  prostrating  the  Bank  of  the  United  States ; 
they  were  coaxed,  almost  commanded,  to  extend  their  loans.  They  did 
so,  to  imprudent  lengths.  The  executive  saw  and  knew  this.  "Were 
they  admonished  to  diminish  their  discounts  ?  Never !  So  far  as  Pkuow, 
on  J;he  contrary,  they  were  eulogized  up  to  July,  1836;  then  came  the 
executive  dpnunoiations,  and  they  have  never  since  ceased. 

The  executive  is  to  blame,  so  are  the  banks ;  bpt  on  account  of  their 
quarrel,  the  great  American  family  ought  not  to  be  sacrificed. 

If  none' were  to  be  injured  but  themselves,' I  certainly  should  feel  no 
inclination  to  interfere ;  but  I  do  think  it  nothing  b.ut  just  that  both  par- 
ties should  bear  their  due  proportion  of  blame,  and  that  a  separation 
ought  not  to  be  permitted  under  circumstances  hy  which  an  unoffending 
community  must  be  the  sufferers. 

But  again;  I  think  if  it  is  even  proper  to  establish  this  system,  and  to 
have  this  divorce,  now  is  not  the  proper  time. 

The  banks  are  State  institutions ;  society  have  a  deep  interest  in  their 
maintaining  a  sound  currency;,  this  can  only  be  done  by  resuming  specie 
payments ;  this  they  never  can  do  uijtil  their  credit  is  reestablished ; 
while  the  whole  weight  of  a  popular  Administration  is  against  them,  they 
never  can  resume  with  a  hope  of  continuing  specie  payments.  You 
separate  now,  and  why?  Because,  say  the  whole  Administration  and  its 
friends — and  if  we  pass  this  bill  we  join  in  the  cry — they  are  unworthy  of 
credit !  Every  man  who  believes  this  statement,  and  has  a  claim  against 
them,  would  apply  for  his  money,  and  they  would  be  compelled  immedi- 
ately to  stop  again. 

Take  the  weight  of  the  federal  government  off  them.  Itns  no-{v  pressing 
them  into  the  dust,  ahd  while  it  is  upon  them,  you  might  as  well  order  a 
man,  whose  legs  had  been  cut  off,  to  jump  to  his  feet  and  walk,  as  to 


SUB-TREASURY   BILL.'  227 

require  tljem  to  rcsnme,  with  a  hoi^e  that  they  can  do  so.  Let  their 
credit  he  again  restored,  and  if  we  must  sejjarate,  they  could  better  then, 
than  now,  sustain  the  shock. 

Tlie  federal  government  .obtained  the  nse  of  tlieni  when  their  credit 
was  good;  it  should  be  restored,  and  then,  if  ever,  they  ought  to  bo 
returned,  in  equally  good  credit,  to  the  exclusive  use^of  the  States. 

Suppose  we  pass  this  bill,  and  then  the  banks  resume,  five-sixths  of 
the  revenue  must  be  taken  in  their  notes ;  in  a  very  short  time,  enough 
would  be  received  to  enable  your  depositories  to  withdraw  so  much  of 
their  specie  as  to  compel  them  to  suspend.  And  if  they  do  not  resume, 
their  paper-  depreciates,  and  specie  becomes  an  article  of  merchandise, 
and  thus  the  federal  servant  will  receive  better  money  than  the  State 
officers,  or  tlie  masters  of  both — the  mass  of  the  people. 

The  State  banks  nevpr  ean  resume  with  ^  iiope.  of  doing  a  profitable 
business.  •    <  1 1     ■■ »  ' 

Suppose  the  system  In 'complete  operation.  Then  all  the  revenue  is 
received  in  specie,  your  average  surplus  in  the  treasury  will  be  at  least 
•seven  or  eight  millions  of  dollars.  This,  if  left  in  the  banks,  would  fui-- 
nish  a  specie  basis  upon  which  safely  to  issue  three  for  one.  Hence,  by- 
this  process,  you  abstract  and  lock  up  twenty  or  tAveuty-five  millions  of 
dollars  of  the  circulating  medium,  which  is  of  no  more  use  to  the  govern- 
ment or  individuals  than  if  sunk  in  the  ocean. 

Bunks  go  to  excess  occasionally,  and  there  is  temporary  suifering :  so 
of  every  thing  else — we  have  nothing  good  but  what  produces  evil  when  • 
carried  to  excess.  Banks  issue  too  much  paper,  but  that  is  no  reason 
they  should  all  be  destroyed.  Over-issues  produce  individual  sulierino-. 
^ut  eyen  thjs  is  productive  of  some  benefit.  It  makes  roads  and  canals, 
and  improves  plantations.  Although  all  these  change  owners  when  a 
curtaihnent  takes  place,  yet  the  improvements  remain  for  the  benefit  of 
the  people  at  large. 

What  do  gentlemen  mean  ?  Do  they  mean  te  put  us  -back  to  the  year 
eleyen  hundred,  when  they  say  banks  commenced ;  Are  we  to  quit  our 
ordinary  business,  and  commence  wading  branches  in  search  of  golden 
pebbles,  to  add  to  the  stock  of  precious  metals  ?■  Are  we  to  give  up  the 
earnings  of  our  families,  our  porringers,  and  our  sijoons' t6  this  Aaron 
of  democracy,  that  he  may  melt  them,  and,  with  his  graving  tools,  make 
us  our  own  metallic  god  to  worsliip  ?  The  more  free  a  country  is  the 
more  prone  are  its  people  to  run  into  ez'Ctf^s,  and  none  so  much  as  our 
own.  What  was  Great  Britain  before  the  establishment  of  her 
bank?  Like  other  nations,  who  are  destitute  of  ever3i;hing  but  a 
.specie  circulation,  poor,  unthrifty,  anti-cotnmercial.     And  what  is  she 

IU)W? 

We  need  a  larger  circulation  than  any  country  upon  earth  of  the  same  ' 
population,  because  we  are  freer  than  any  other.     The  circulation  ought 


228  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

always  io  bear  a  due  proportion  to  all  salable  or  excbangeable  commo- 
dities. In  some  of  tlie  States^ everything  is  of  that  description.  Entails 
are  destroyed,  all  property,  real  and  personal,  is  unfettered,  and  for  sale 
whenever  a  man  thinks  he'  can  better  himself  by  selling  in  an  old,  and 
purchasing  in  a  new  State.  In  many  States  so  much  ia  land  unfettered 
that  it  can  be  sold  in  fee  simple  upon  a  writ  of  Jieri  facias. 

In  our  country  a  man's  capital,  in  many  insta'nces,  is  his  character  for 
integrity,  his  capacity  for  business  and  his  business  habits.  These  give 
him  credit  with  banks.  "With  the  aid  of  bank  accommodations,  in  many 
instances  he  makes  himself  wealthy  in  a  few  years,  and  every  man  who 
adds  to  his  o^vn  stock  of  wealth  enriches  the  whole  country. 

Give  me  wealthy  people  and  a  poor  treasury,  q,nd  then  the  country  is 
rich,  and  its  libei'ty  safe.     •  ,         ' 

Destroy  banks,  and  you  thraw  €vei'y  man  again  into  the  hands  of 
capitalists,  Jews,  money-lenders,  where  few  can  borrow  wlio  cannot 
mortgage  land  to  secure  payment.  Whereas  batiks  always  feel  it  a  favor 
conferred  on  them  when  they  can  get  a  good  customer. 

Although  I  speak  thus  freely  of  the  utility  of  banks,  they  never  have 
been  favorites  of  mine,  but  we  must  have  them.  The  country  cannot, 
and  will  not  do  without  them. 

"We  junsthave  sk  treasury  lajiJii,  a  bank  incorporated  l^y  .Congress,  or 
State  banls.  And  I  prefer  the  last.  They  are  the  least  dangerous^  and 
the  States  have  clearly  the  power  to  incorporate  them.  The  States,  in 
granting  charters,  can,  if  they  choose,  guard  generally  against  excesses: 
IS  tliey  wei'e  to  direct  all  profits  over  six  or  eight  per  cent,  per  annum 
to  go  into  the  treasury,  as'  a  school  fund,  the  temptation  to  shave  and  to 
make  excessive  loans  would  be  taken  away.  And  if  they  would  prohibit 
standing  accommodations,  few  bad  debts  would  be  contracted. 

2d.  The  .othfer  object  of  the  bill  is  to  compel  ovir  collectors  and  receivers 
to  cease  depositing  money  in  banks,  and  to  compel  them  to  deposit  all 
moneys  in  the  hands  of  officers  appointed  by  the  President,  and  removable 
at  his  p^easiir^,  there  to  be  kept  till  needed  for  disbursement.  I  think 
this  arrangement  much-  worse  than  to  deposit  in  the  banks. 

•First,  because  tlie  directors  and  officers  of  the  banks  will  be  more  likely 
to  be  faithful  than  officers  appoijited  by  us.  The  stockholders  will  alwaj's 
intend  to  select  those  who  will  be  inost  likely  not  to  waste  their  moneys. 
Our  officers  for  some  time  have  been,  and  I  consider  the  system  is  to  be 
continued,  selected  more  with  a  view  to  influence  in  elections  than  to 
any  qualifications  for  the  particular  offices  they  are  to  fill,  l^et  me -not 
be  misunderstood.  I  do  liot  mean  to  say  that  every  office-holder  is  a 
mere  party  tool.  I  think  there  are  many  who  are  not.  But  I  do  mean 
to  state  it  as  my  opinion,  that  now,  and  for  some  time  past,  the  principal 
qualification  looked  for  is  political  infiuence ;  ■  and  such  men,  appointed 
from  such  motives,  I  think  will  generally  be  unsafe  depositories.    Suppos- 


SUB-TREASURT    BILL.  229 

ing  these  officers  equally  faithful,  they  Avill  not  generally  have  places  as 
safe  as  those  provided  by  banks. 

Again :  this  plan  will  occasion  a  great  increase  of  expense.  New 
officers,  clerks,  visitors,  houses,  safes,  vaults,  &c.  There  will  be  no  effec- 
tual checks,  either  upon  those  officers  or  upon  disb^irsing  officers.  It  is 
said  there  have  been,  in  modern  times,  but  few  losses  by  de&lcation  of 
disbursing  officers. 

One  principal,  if  not  the  sole  reason  of  ttiis  is,  the  check  upon  therm,  by 
ordering  them,  whenever  their  position  will  enablfe-  them  to  do  so,  to 
keep  their 'mooeys  in  banks,  and  -every  week  or  month  an  account  is  fur- 
nished the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  by  the  deposit  bank  showing  tho 
sums  deposited,  and  by  whom.  This  furnisheg  strong  reasons  against 
using  or  loaning' money ;  immediate  detection  woukl  be  the  consequence. 

Under-  the  proposed  system  thi-s  check  is  entirely  removed,  and  the 
public  money  will,  in  many  cases,  be  misused. 

I  now  Jiave  in  my  drawer  a  document  showing  what  has  been  done  in 
one  case  by  an  officer  in  whos6  integrity  I  once  had  unlimited  confidence. 
He  collected  a  large  claim  from  one  debtor  to  the  government,  and  imme- 
diately loa,ned  the  amount  received  to  some  political  friends,  not  only 
without  authority,  but  contrary  to  hi«  instructions,  and,  at  this  moment, 
two  suits  are  pending  against  these  new  debtors^  who  have  refused  to  pay 
their  notes  as  they  fall  due.  If  I  mistake  not,  one'  of  the  parties  to  this 
very  transaction  has  been  appointed  to,  and  now  holds  an  office  which 
wiir  make  him  a  sub-treasurer  if  this  bill  should  pass. 

A  bank  in  ray  own  State  has  been  alluded  to,  in  a  letter  read  by  the 
senator  from  Missouri,  which  he  has  received  from  .the  late  Chief  Magis- 
trate. 

A  brief  I'eview  of  the  history  of  that  bank,  and  matters  connected  with 
it,  may  be  of  use  to  us  on  the  subject  under  consideration.- 

The  act  establisliing  that  bank  -was  passed  at  a  called  session,  in  the  year 
1820.  The  charter  of  the  United  States  Bank  was  passed  in  1816,  and 
the  bank  went  into  actual  operation  the -1st  of  January,  1817. 

It  was  no  administration  measure,  and  when  the  bill  was  before  Con- 
gress, the  representative  from  my  district  sent  me  a  copy  of  it,  with  a 
1-eques.t  that  I  would  give  him  my  opinion  of  its  provisions,  which  I  did, 
in  a  pretty  lengthy  letter.  That  opinion  was  very  decidedly  against  the 
bill,  and  the  opinion  I  then  formed  and  expressed  I  have  ever  siuee  enter- 
tained, and'  still  entertain.  He,  alon«,  from  Tennessee,  as  I  believe,  voted 
against  the  bill.  For  this  vote  he  was  attacked  at  home,  and  I  felt 
in  duty  bound  to  maintain  him  as  well  as  I  could.  This  brought  me 
in  direct  conflict  with  the  friends  of  the  United  States  Bank  as  early 
as  181-6. 

Soon  after  the  bank  went  into  operation,  it  established  branches  in 
Kentucky,  and,  before  the  fall  of  1817,  many  of  the  loans  first  made  had 
fallen  due,  and  payment  was  exacted.    To  this  the  people  had  not  beea 


230  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAW30N    WHITE. 

accuston^ed ;  and,  as  is  always  the  case,  altliough  the  bank  had  been 
popular  when  malciag  loans,  It  soon  became  very  unpx)pular  when  trying 
io  collect  its  cleMs. 

Stories  of  the  ruinous  operations  of  the  bank  in  Kentucky  soon  reached 
us  in  Tennessee,  and  in  the,  autumn  of  1817,  with  a  view  to  save  Ten-!' 
nesseefrom  the  like  oppression,  her  legislature  passed  an  act,  as' I  believe, 
unanimously,  imposing  a  very  heavy  tax,  say  fifty  thoflsand  dollars,  upon 
any  persons  attempting  to  bank  in  Tennessee  without  authority  from  the 
State. 

A  few  years  since,  while  the  controversy  was  going  on  with  the  Bank 
of  the  United  States,  the  Senate  created  a  committee,  of  which  Mr.  Tyler, 
of  Virginia,  was  a  member,,  to  examine  into  its  proceedings,  and  when 
they  made  their  report,  for  the  first  time,  I  found  a  letter  dated  in  1818, 
now  bound  up  in  our  documents,  soliciting  the  president  of  the  bank  to 
establish  a  branch  in  Nashville,  notwithstanding  the  act  of  assembly, 
informing  him  that  the  act  was  passed  by  contracted,  illiberal  men,  and, 
after  furnishing  a  list  of  names  for  directors,  assuring  him  that  if  a  branch 
was  established,  and  directors  appointed  from]  the  list,  he  would  see  that 
a  good  account  should  be  given  of  those  who  would  attempt  to  enforce 
the  State  law.  '  ■        , 

Mr.  Jones,  the  then  president,  answered  this  letter^  ^nd,  veiy  properly, 
refused  to«end  a  branch  into, the  State  contrary  to  the  expressed  will  of 
the  legislature. 

Thus  the  matter  rested  until  1826,  when  this  same  gentleman  was  a 
leading  member  of  the  Tennessee  legislature ;  and,  not  having  been  able 
to  get  a  branch  bank  of^the  United  States,  Jie  and  others  determined  they 
wpuld  have  a  ''paj)er  lanTc-,  founded  on  State  funds  and  the  faith  of  the 
State.  They  passed  an  act  creating  a  bank.  There  was  then  in  the  State 
a  bank  in  which  the  State  had  twenty  thousand  dollars  of  the  stock.  It 
was  called  the  Bank  of  the  State  of  Tennessee,  and  had  been  so  con- 
ducted as  to  give  society  confidence  in  it ;  and,  in  baptising  tliis  new  bank 
its  authors  gave  it  exactly  the  same  name,  and  thus  we  had,  at  the  same 
time,  two  banks,  having  the  same  name,  in  the/same  State.  The  friends 
of  the  old  would  not  have  hesitated  in  charging  the  leaders  who  estab- 
lished the  new  with  pilfering  their  name,  that  they  might  derive  benefit 
from  their  credit,  had  they  been  other  than  members  of  the  assembly. 

The  plan  of  this  new  bank  was  not  to  pay  specie,  and  to  please  the 
people,  it  was  said  it  was  a  bank  to  relieve  the  people  from  pecuniary 
distress.  - 

At  the  same  session,  and  to  force  into  circulation  paper  money  not 
redeemable  in  specie,  laws  were  passed  to  prevent  levies  of  execution, 
unless  plaintiffs  would  agree  to  receive  irredeemable  bank  paper. 

These  proceedings  met  with  very  decided  opposition  from  the  sup- 
porters of  a  sound  currency. 

They  denounced  a  depreciated  paper  currency  as  a  curse  to  the  country, 


SUB-TREASURY   BILL.  231 

ana  the  old  State  bank  -would  not  toach  the'paper  of  the  new ;  and,  after 
a  long  controversy  betVveen  the  directors,  under  tlie  administration  of  an 
enlightened  and  worthy  directory  of  the  new  State  bank,  it  wiis  bo  con- 
ducted as  to  be  converted  into  a  specie  paying  bank,  and  I  believe  it  has 
faithfully  redeemed  whatever  notes  it  put  in  circulation. 

But,  then,  what  became  of  the  capital  and  profits?  Much  of  them 
were  wasted.     There  was  a  bl-anoh  or  agency  in  each  county. 

The  cashier  of  the  principal  bank,  a  highly  worthy,  intelligent,  and 
generous  man,  could  not  resist  the  temptation ;  he  permitted  importunate 
and  needy  friends  to  draw  checks,  which  he  paid  when  they  had  no  fu^ds 
in  bank.     This  practice  was  detected  and  exposed,  and  he  ruined. 

Some  of  the  agents,  men  of  as  much  integrity  as  those  to  be  found  now, 

either  used,  or  permitted  others  to  use,  the  moneys  entrusted  to  their  care. 

Those  moneys  were  in  some  instances  lost,  the  agents  ruined,  and  the 

^State  has  been  for  several  years  endeavoring  to  save  something  from  the 

wreck. 

With  these  examples  before  me,  I  cannot,  I  will  not,  I  dare  npt,  give 
my  sanction  to  a  schenle  so  demoralizing,  and  fraught  with  so  many  mis- 
chiefs. '  ,      ' » 

But,  sir,  our  history  stops  not  here.  I  think,  about  the  year  1826,  a 
Nashville  bank  .failed,  and  occasioned  much  excitement.  The  legislature, 
then  in  session,  repealed  our  act  of  1817,  imposing  the  tax  of  which  I 
have  spoken ;  a  branch  of  the  United  States  Bank  was  applied  for,  and 
established.  It  went  down  with  the  principal  and  the  other  branches, 
and  from  that  time,  untilJuly,  1836,  we  were  State  bank  men,  generally: 
these  banks  having  a  safe  specie  basis,  and  always  paying  specie.  During 
the  whole  of  these  arduous  conflict,  others  havehad  an  advantage  over  me. 

They  first  wanted  a  United  States  Bank,  that  we  might  have  a  good 
currency  everywhere.  Next  they  wanted  paper  money,  and  creditors 
forced  to  receive  it,  or  to  get  nothing ;  then  United  States  Bank  notes 
again ;  and  now,  when  the  monster  is  slain,  and  we  can  all  venture  to 
measure  the  length  amd  breadth  of  its  supposed  deformities,  nothing  will 
do  them  but  the  pure  unadulterated  hard  money. 

Mr,  President,  these  politicians  ever  have  the  advantage  of  me.  I  never 
can  give  up  an  old  opinion,  until  I  am  sure  I  have  found  better  reasons 
for  a  new  one.  They  have  the  full  benefit  of  what  is  called  the  march  of 
mind.  They  march  and  countermarch  so  that  I  cannot  keep  pace  with 
them.  I  turn  slowly,  awkwardly,  and  these  politicians  give  me  the  dodge, 
and  are  sometimes  out  of  sight  before  I  know  they  intend  to  cliange. 
But  this  is  of  no  consequence  to  me.  Such  wills-with-the-wisp  or  jacks- 
with-the-lantern  I  would  not  follow,  if  I  could  see  them.  They  would 
only  pilot  me  into  some  quagmire  or  swamp,  and  then  leave  me,  although 
their  dexterity  could  easily  extricate  themselves. 
For  myself,  I  now  am,  and  ever  have  been  a  hard  money  man,  to  every 


232  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

reasonable  and  Constitutional  extent.  Nothing  is  with  me  money,  within 
the  meaning  of  the  Constitution,  but  the  precious  metaU,  and  they  either 
coined,  and  their  value  fixed  by  acts  of  Congress,  or  foreign  coin,  whose 
value  is  declared  in  t|ie  same  way.  No  government,  either  State  or  fed- 
eral, can  make  anything  else  a  tender  in  payment  of  debts.  This  kind  of 
money,  and  this  only,  is  the  end  of  the  law,  where  pecuniary  compensa- 
tion is  to  be  made.  It  is  not  only  the  standard  by  which  the  value  of 
property  is  to  be  fixed,  but  it  is  in  itself  property,  which  can  be  applied 
to  other  useful  purposes.  The  federal  govermnent  has  no  power  to  in- 
corporate individuals,  and  bestow  upon  them  banking  powers  and  privi- 
leges, to  be  exercised  within  the  States. 

The  federal  government  cannot  issue,  or  authorize  to  be  issued,  paper 
to  be  used  as  cjjrrency. 

The  Constitution  takes  from  the  States  the  power  to  issue  bills  of 
credit.  «. 

It  does  not  confer  upon  Congress  aay  such  power,  and  it  can  exercise 
no  power  except  tJiat  which,  is  expressly  granted.  The  framers  of  the 
©onstitution  having  taken  from  the  States  the  power  to  issue  bills  gf 
credit,  and  having  refused  or  omitted  to  conf-er  such  a  power  on  Congress, 
believed  they  had  secured  tlie  country  against  the  issue  of  a  paper  cur- 
rency by  either  government,  which  individuals  could  have  np  means  by 
suit'  to  compel  th^  payment  of,  and  which,  if  tolerated,  woul^  be  sure 
to  depreciate. 

Before  the  Constitution  of  the- United  States  was  framed,  the  State 
had  the  power  to  incorporate  individuals,  and  give  them  banking  powers 
and  privileges ;  this  power  was  never  taken  from  them,  and,  therefore, 
tbey  stiU  possess  it. 

I  have  believed,  and  now  do,  that  in  a  country  so  extensive  as  ours, 
so  higl^ly  commercial,  and  so  free,  our  business  cannot  be  transacted  Avith- 
out  paper  of  some  kind,  which  is  not  money ^  but  crcofji,  the  representa- 
tive of  money.  These  credits  will  be  highly  injurious,  unless  regulated 
by  law.  I  therefore  have  maintained  State  banks,  at  the  same  time 
wishing  to  put  down,  by  all  means  in  my  power,  small  notes ;  to  have 
none  less  than  five,  ten,  twenty,  and  even  higher  than  that,  if  a  majority 
wished,  so  as  to  furnish  a  broad  specie  basis  the  better  to  maintain  and 
support  the  organized  credits,  evinced  by  hanlc  notes  or  checls. 

It  is  all  idle  to  tell  me  that  the  only  mode  to  have  hard  money  is  to  put 
down  State  banks.  Put  them  down  to-morrow,  and  then  we  will  find  it 
indispensable  to  have  a  United  States  Bank  owned  by  individuals,  or  a 
treasury  bank  owned  by  the  United  States,  and  ^governed  at  the  will  of 
the  executive. 

Being  opposed  to -both  these,  and  thinking  the  country  must  have 
credits  in  some  "shape,  I  support  State  banks  as  the  only  means  of 
preventing  the  establishment  of  some  one,  of  the  others.    I  think  them 


SUB-TREASURY   BILL.  233 

both  unconstitutioHal,  and  the  treasury  bank  infinitely  the  most  dan« 
gerous. 

We  might  as  well  at  once  put  the  whole  moneys  of  the  government  at 
the  disposition  of  the  executive  as  to  pass  this  bill ;  because,  although 
some  of  the  officers  wh©  are  to  have  cliarge  of  it  must  have  the  sanction 
of  the  Seriate  in  their  appointment,  yet  the  Presid-ent  can  remove,  or  have 
removed  at  his  pleasure,  every  man  of  them. 

This  bill,  in  tinith  and  in  fact,  creates  a  hanh  with  xast  powers  and 
extensive  capacity. 

■  Suppose  .Congress  to  incorporate  a,  number  of  individuals,  and  confer 
upon  them  powers  to  do  exactly  the  same  thing  which  the  officers  named 
in  this  bill  are  empowered  and  required  to  do,  what  would  gentlemen 
call  their  institution  ?  It  must  and  Avould  be  a  bank ;  they  would  have 
all  the  usual  powers  of  a  bank,  except  to  loan  money  by  discpunting 
notes. 

The  only  use  of  an  act  of  incorporation  is  to  empower  a  number  of 
individuals,  or  sqme  one  man,  to  transact  qertain  business  under  particu- 
lar restrictions.  Now  if  we- give  to  our  own  officers  exactly  the  same 
powers  which,  if  given  to  one  or  more  individuals,  would  denominate  the 
establishment  a  bank,  it  is  equally  so  in  both  cases. 

This  bill  provides  places  whqre  our  whole  treasure,  hard  money,  notes 
of  specie-paying  banks,  treasury  notes,  or  other  paper  issued  under  the 
authority  of  the  government,  are  to  be  kept.  ■•  .     • 

It  authorizes  the  ti'ansfers  and  re-transfers  of  those  moneys  from  point 
to  point,  at  the  discretion  of  the  Secretary.     There  is  now  a  bill  before 
the  other  house  authorizing  an  issue  of  ten  millions  of  treasury  notes ;  it 
will  certainly  pass  for  that  or  a  larger  sum. 
Now  let  us  consider  how  these  powers  will  be  made  to  operate. 
1st.  The  capital  is  the  whole  treasure  of  the  nation,  say  any  sum  we 
please  jiot  less  than  twenty-five;  nor  more  than  fifty  millions  of  dollars. 
'  This  sum  can  be  concentrated  at  one  place,  or  dispersed' to  different 
places,  as  the  Secretary  chooses.     A  merchant  of  New  York  owes  fifty 
thousand  dollars  for  duties,  and  this  sum  he  is  to  pay  to  the  collector  there, 
who  is  to  deposit  it  in  his  vault.     He  borrows  the  amount  from  a  specie- 
paying  bank  in  the  nptes  of  the  State  bank,  and  pays  the  debt.    Instantly 
the  collector  goes  to  the  bank,  draws  the  specie,  and  returns  its  .notes, 
and  locks  the  specie  up  in  the  vault,  where  he  is  to  keep  it  till  needed  for 
disbursement;  and  by  pursuing  this  plan  the  whole  specie  may  be  with- 
drawn from  the  banks,  or  so  much  of  it  as  .to  compel  the  banks  to 
wind  up. 

Again :  a  merchant  in  Nashville  owes  fifty  thousand  dollars  for  goods 
puvchased  in  New  York  ;  he  gets  that  amount  in  notes  of  the  Nashville 
banks  by  borrowing  or  otherwise,  but  they  will  not  answer  to  pay  his 
debt  in  New  York ;  he  therefore  goes  to  the  sub-treasurer,  who  has  his 


234  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

proportion  of  these  treasuiy  notes,  and  gives  him  his  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars, and  receives  a  treasury  note,  or  notes,  and  perhaps  allows  one  per  cent, 
as  the  difference  of  exchange,  and  the  snb-ti-easurer  immediately  goes  to 
the  State  bank,  returns  its  notes,J;akes  the  specie  and  locks  it  up  in  the 
vaults.-  "When  a  creditor  of  the  governnient  applies  for  payment  of  his 
salary,  or  other  dues,  he  may  be  paid  in^  treasury  notes,  and  thus  we  find 
this  is  a  bank  of  issues. 

It  is  useless  to  pursue  this  subject  farther.  Every  praotical  man  must 
see  'this  is  in  substance  a  treasury  bank,  with  immense  funds  as  a  capital, 
with  unlimited  power  to  draw  and  redraw,  and  that  it  is  a  bank  to  issue 
not  hard  money  alone,  hut  pa2)er  money,  issued  hy  or  under  the  authority 
of  the  United  States.  That  it  confers  powers  and  capacities  which  will 
enable  it  to  prostrate  the  State  ianks,  any  an'd  everi)wher£  at  its  pleasure. 

It  will  npt  only  control  the  State  banks,  and  make  thern  subservient  to 
its  will,  but  will  also  influence  all  men  engaged  in  conwnerce,  which 
requires  the  use  of  funds  at  distant  places. 

.  Pass  this  bill,  and  we  put  it  in  the  power  of  the  President^  through  his 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  to  control  the  whole  pecuniary  active  capital 
of  the  country,  "We  are'  to  add  this  tremendous  power  to  a  patronage 
already  dangerous  in  the  extreme,  and  this  at  a  time  when  we  have  a 
Chief  Magistrate  who  is  .not  only  unwilling  to  have  h.is-'power  anii  patron- 
age curtailed  ■SiXi^  limited,' but  is  desirous  to  add  to  them,ev6n  to  the 
extent  of  encouraging  ai'med  voluntary  associations  to  stand  ready  to 
carry  out  his  views  by  force  of  arms.  J 

In  the  early  and  pure  days  of  the  Eepublic,  in  1789,  the  republican 
doctrine  was,  that  no  President  would  ever  dare  to  remove  an  otficer  who 
held  office' at  the  will  of  the  President,  simply  on  account  of  his  politics; 
and,  if  he  did,  Mr.  Madison  said  it  would  be  a  crime  for  which  he  should 
be  impeached. 

Mr.  Jefferson,  upon  assuming  the  reins  of  government,  prohibited  all 
inferior  officers  from  interfering  in  elections,  further  than  to  vote,  on  pain 
of  dismissal.  ■  , 

In  the  canvass,  which  brought 'the  late  President  into  office,  twe  all 
thought  the  same  way,  and  that  this  was  the  sound  democratic  or  repub- 
can  doctrine. 

Do  we  not  all  remember  the  outcry  against  Mr.  Adams,  because  we 
thought,  through  a  Mr.  Slade,  a  clerk  in  some  of  the  departments,  -he  had 
signified  to  the  Vermont  legislature  that  he  preferred  the  old  senator, 
Mr.  Seymour,  to  Mr.  Van  Ness?  The  newspapers  rung  with  this  charge, 
and  if  Mr.  Adams  or  his  cabinet  had  avowed  that  they  had  a  riglit  to  en- 
deavor to  influence  people  in  elections,  it  is  doubtful  how  he  would  ^lave 
got  through  even  the  four  years  to  which  iie  had  been  elected. 

Now  the  whole  course  of  thinking  and  acting  is  changed. 

During  the  Jast  .Administration  it  was  not  only  maintained  that  the 


SUB-TREASURY   BILL.  ••  235 

President  aad  all  under  him  had' a  right  to,  interfere,  but,  for  the  sake  of 
securing  a  demoqi*atic  Administilition,  it  was  a  duty  to  aid  lii  electing  his 
successor,  members  to  both'liouses  of  Congress,  Governors  of  States,  &c. 
The  present  incumbent  imju-oves  upon  this^  and  countenances  what 
may  be  called  legions  of  honor,  to  niaintain  him  by  force  in  carrying  out 
modern  democracy. 

I  have  been  surprised  that  in  none  of  oiir  discussions  has  any  gentle- 
man alluded  to  a  correspondence  between  an  association  in  Philadelphia 
and  the  Chief  Magistrate  during  the  past  year. 

They  infonfted  him  -that  they  had  voluntarily  'Associated  together,  had 
armed  and  equipped  themselves,  and  made  a  tender  of  their  services  to 
carry  out  the  laws. 

In  a  country  as  free  as  X)urs,  where  the  laws  themseWes  are  nothing 
but  tlie  Avill  of  a  majority  of  the  people,  constitutionally  eKpressed,>every 
thing  which  tends  to  weaken  or  ^i^inisb  our  respect  for  the  laws  is 
highly  reprehensible.  Now  what  would  we  reasonably  expect  as  an 
answer  from  our  Chief  Magistrate  to  such  a  tender  of  services? 

I  looked  for  grateful  acknowledgments  for  their  good  feelings  towards 
him,  and  a  request  that,  as  they  regarded  him  and  his  fame,  they  would 
immediately  lay  aside  their  warlike  implements  and  dissolve  the  associa- 
tion ;  because,  if  the  country  was  to  remain  free,  such  voluntary  associa- 
tions could  never  be  necessary.  Public  opinion,  and  forces,  when  indis- 
I>ehsable,  called  out'under  the  authority  of  law,  would  always  be  sufKcient 
in  the  hands  of  the  executive  to  give  effect  to  the  will  of  the  people, 
expressed  tlirqugh  their  acts  of  Congress. 

But  I  was  sorry  to  find  no  such  sentiments ;  on  the  contrary,  sincere 
thanks,  and  a  manifest  willingness  to  countenance  the  use  of  such  forces 
if  emergency  should  require  their  services. 

The  good  sense  of  society  must  check  this  course  of  thinking,  or  there 
is  reason  to  fear  that,  at  no  distant  day,  we  may  have,  through. the  agency 
of  such  means,  anarchy  first,  and  then  despotism. 

The  senator  from  Massachusetts  (Mr.  Webster),  at  the  close  of  his  reply 
to  the  senator  from  South  Carolina,  "  for  his  special  benefit,"  in  very  good 
temper,  and  in  a  most  happy  manner,  referred  to  the  early  history  of  that 
portion  of  my  State,  now  called  East  Tennessee,  once  known  as  the  State 
of  Franklin.  He  read  us  a  part  of  one  of  her  acts  of  assembly,  which 
fixed  the  salaries  of  some  of  her  officers,  and  directed  the  species  of  cur- 
rency in  which  they  were  to  be  paid. 

I  always  feel  gratified  when  I  know,  or  hear,  that  my  State  has  done 
anything  which  benefits  any  portion  of  my  fellow-men. 

"  Blessed  are  the  peace-makers,"  is  the  language  of  Holy  Writ.  On 
this  occasion  the  two  honorable  and  distinguished  senators  had  assumed 
an  attitude  so  belligerent,  that  I  really  feared  it  might  end  in  something 
worse  than  words.    But  no  sooner  were  the  labors  of  my  State  fifty  years 


236  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

ago  "brought  to  the  notice  of  this  grave  body,  than  we  all  forgot  that  any 
of  us  had  ever  been  out  of  temper,  and  so  soon  as  we  coaid  recovei*  com- 
posure enough  to  adjourn,  we  separated  like  a  band  of  brothers — uo  two 
leaving  the  chamber  in  better  temper  with  each  other  than  the  two  hon- 
orable senators.   '  •'  •. 

But,  sir,  the  senator  knew  nothing  of  the  practice  under  the  State  law, 
therefore  we  have  not  the  full  benefit  which  we  ought  to  derive  from  hi* 
reminiscence.  He  could  have  r^elated  the  whole  incidents  so  much  better 
than  I  can,  that  I  regret  he  cKd  not  mention  this  subject  to  me  before  he 
addressed  the  Senate ;  if  he  had  I  would  have  given  him  the  additional 
facts,  that  the  whole  might  have  been  detailed  in.  the  Senate  in  his  good 
tempered  and  felicitous  manner. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  governor,  chief  justices,  and  some  other 
officers,  were  to  be  paid  in  deei'-skins,  other  inferior  officers  were  to  be' 
paid  in  raccoon-skins.      Now,  at  that  day,  we  were  all  good  whigs, 
although  we  had  some  of  the  notions  of  the  democrats  of  the  present  day.- 

"We  thought  these  taxes  might  safely  remain  in  the  hands  of  tlie  collec- 
tors as  sub-treasuries  until  wanted  for  disbursement.  The  taxes  were, 
therefore,  fairly  collected  in  the  skins  and  peltry  pointed  out  in  the  law. 
But  the  collectors,  as  report  says,  knew  that  although  raccoon-skins  werQ 
plenty,  opossum-skins  were  more  so,  and  that  they  eould  be  procuijed  for 
little  or  nothing.  They,  therefore,  procm-ed  the  requisite  numbers  of 
opossum-skins,  cut  the  tails  off  the  raccoon-skins,  sewed  them  to  the  opos- 
sum-skins, paid  them  into  the  general  or  principal  treasury,  and  sold  the 
raccoon-skins  to  the  hatters. 

The  treasurer  had  been  an  unlucky  appointment,  although  a  worthy 
man;  he  was  a  foreigner,  knew  nothing  of- skins  or  peltry,  and  was, 
therefore,  easily  deceived  by  his  sub-treasul-ers.  "When  this-  imposition 
was  discovered,  the  whole  system  went  down,  and  we  never  have  had  a 
great  fancy  for  leaving  the  taxes  in  the  hands  of  the  sub-treasurers  ©j-  col- 
lectors from  that  day  to  this. 

But,  sir,  these  old  proceedings  more  clearly  developed  the  true  charac- 
ter of  my  State  than  almost  anything  of  the  present  day. 

The  territory  or  tract  of  country  called  Franklin,  was  composed  of  four 
counties  of  North  Carolina,  and  separated  from  the  body  of-  the  State  by 
the  great  ledge  of  mountains,  called  at  different  places  b}'  different  names, 
and  from  what  is  now  West  Tennessee  by  the  Cumberland  Mountains, 
and  a  wilderness  of  two  hundred  miles. 

The  Revohitionary  "War  had  terminated  with  Great  Britain  in  1Y83,  but 
it  continued  witli  the  powerful  tribes  of  Indians  who  had  been  in  alliance 
with  her.  The  depredations  of  these  Indians  were  so  serious  that  aid  to 
arrest  tlieir  ravages  was  desired  from  North  Carolina;  that  State  was  not 
in  a  situation  to  furnish  protection,  and  instead  thereof,  from  good  mo; 
tives,  no  doubt,  but  without  due  consideration,  passed  an  dct  ceding  us  to 


SUB-TKEASUKY    BILL.  237 

the  United  States.  "When  the  news  was  received  the  leading  men,  who 
were  Kuig^s  mountain  men — Sevier,  the  companion  of  the  gallant  Camp- 
Dell  and  Shelby,  at  their  li^ead,  took  tire ;  the  discontent  ended  in  a  decla- 
^•ation  of  independence,  and  the  formation  of  the  State  called,  to  perpe- 
tuate our  whig  principles,  "  Franhlin.'''' 

North  Carolina  discovered  her  error,  and,  before  Congress  could  act  on 
the  subject,  repealed  her  act  of  cession.  But  it  was  too  late.  We  had 
been  disposed  pf  without  our  consent.  Though  but  a  haudfnl,  Avith  a 
powerful  sAtage  enemy  infesting  our  whole  frontier,  and  without  a  dollar 
to  begin  with,  we  set  iip  for  ourselves.  We  would  not'  brook  the  indig- 
nity ;  we  had  begun  the  fight  for  liberty,  and  liberty  or  death  Ave  would 
hfive.  We  continued  the  controversy  till  1789,  when  an  accommodation 
with  our  parent  State  took  place ;  and  with  our  own  consent^  and  upon 
terms  thought  just,  we,  with  othei*  portions  c^  territory,  were  ceded,  in 
1789,  to  the  United  States. 

In  1796,  we  became  the  State  of  Tennessee,  and  how  we  have  since 
conducted,  I  willingly  leave  to  the  judgment  of  our  sister  States. 

I  confess,  instead  of  feeling  humbled  by,  I  am  pro;id  of,  this  ancient 
reminiscence.  I  feel  proud  that  my  ancestor  was  one  of  that  unyielding 
band ;  that  I  now  find  myself  associated  here  with  a  Sevier  and  a  Tipton; 
and  although  I  sometimes  think  two  generations  back  those  of  their  name 
would  not  have  wt)rked  so  tamely  in  party  gear,  yet  every  once  in  a  Avhile 
the  Hood  shows  itself,  and  you  can  see,  that  if  their  home  concerns  are  not 
attended  to  here,  according  to  Avhat  is  just,  they  irea^  party  handages, 
and  AA'alk  abroad  in  that  freedom^  for  which  their  fathers  perilled  every 
thing.  ( 

It  is  true  we  are  neither  whigs,  toi-ies,  nor  democrats  by  inheritance, 
but  there  is  much  in  blood,  much  in  education.  Early  lessons  from 
mothers  ate  apt  to  have  an  influence  upon  us  through  life.  What,  the 
father  says  when  he  first  sends  his  boy  to  school  is  liardly  ever  forgotten. 

When  that  laAV  was  p'assed,  and  for  years  afterward,  the  first  morning 
the  son  was  to  start  for  school,  he  Avas  sure  to  receive  the  father's  advice, 
in  emphatic  terms,  calculated  to  make  a  lasting  impression,  in  language 
like  the  foUoAving :  My  son,  you  are  now  going  to  school,  you  must 
render  a  AvilHng  obedience  to  your  master;  he  is  in  my  place,  obey  him, 
if  you  love  me.  Be  kind  to  all  your  school-felloAvs,  do  nothing  offensive 
or  unjust  to  th^m.  Be  careful  in  all  you  say,  and  do  not  give  any  of 
them  cause  of  offence,  and,  if  they  Avill  quarrel  Avith  and  abuse  you,  take 
eai-e  yeu  neyer  pome  horne  whipped  by  any  one  of  them,  if  you  have  the 
poAver  to  prevent  it. 

Children  were  taught  from  infancy  the  doctrine  of  equality,  that  no 
distinction  ought  to  exist  except  that  which  was  produced  by  vice  or 
virtue.      '  "^ 

And  as  to  a  circulating  medium,  this  old  act  contains  a  volume  of 


238  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

instruction  for  me.  At  that  (Jay,  tlie  medium  of  our  exchanges  wag 
skins  and  peltry,  or  fiirs.  They  were  the  the  currency  in  which  the 
people  were  obliged  to  transact  their  business,  and  my  father,  Avhen 
voting  for  that  law,  thought  it  just  that  our  officers,  l^om  the  governor 
to  the  constable,  should  be  paid  in  the  same  kind  of  currency  which  the 
people  were  cotapelled  to  use  in  their  dealings  with  each  otlier,  and  so 
think  I  now  as  to  our  federal  officers.  Such,  I  think,  have  been  the 
opinions  of  a  majority  of  my  constituents  from  my  you.th  to  this  day. 

ITy  -wish  is  to  carry -into  effect  their  iciU.  If  I  had  fortitude  enough 
to  venture  into  an  unknown  world,  I  would  rather  dO  so  ?it»?c,  and  upon 
this  spo^,  than  knowingly  to  give  a  vote  upon  a  subject  so  important, 
which  would  disappoint  the  wishes  of  the  companions  of  my  youth,  the 
associates  of  my'  maturer  years,  and  those  yfho  have  «ver  sustained  me 
against  all  attacks,  at  every  stage  of  life. 

What  I  believe  to  be  their  will,  corresponds  with  my  own  judgment 
on  this  subject ;  and,  however  much  I  may  and  do  regret  a  difference  of 
opinion,  with  fenhghtened  men  from  other  States,  yet  I  acknowledge  no 
responsibility  to  any  hiiman  power  except  to  the  citizens  of  my  own 
State  who  have  so  long  honored  me  with  their  confidence. 


Judge  White's  opposition  to  the  tariff  was  always  firm  but  judi- 
cious. He  never  doubted  the 'power  of  the  federal  government  to 
give  protection,  to  a  certain  extent,  to  home  manufactures  by  imposino- 
taxes  on  foreign  merchandise;  bu't  that^  he  thought,  like  every  other 
power,  ought  to  be  exercised  for  the  good  of  the  whole,  and  under 
that  impression  he  never  woiild  vote  to  impose  a  tax  upon  a  foreign 
article,  which  as  a  nation  we  could  conveniently  dispense  with,  when 
he  saw,  or  had  reason  to  believe,  it  would  increase  the  price  of  the 
article  throughout  any  large  portion  of  tlid  country,  and  none  were  to 
be  benefited  by  it  but  a  few  capitalists,  >vho  would  be  thereby  levy- 
ing a  tax  upon  a  cbnsiderable  portion  of  the  community  for  their 
individual  -benefit.  He  liked  to  see  domestic  manufactures  flourish,' 
but  never  wished  to  see  them  brought  into  existence,  or  nourislied, 
in  one  section  of  the  country,  at  the  expense  and  to  the  positive  detri- 
ment of  another.  He  therefore  uniformly  opposed  a  protective  tariff 
both  by  his  votes  and  speeches. 

In  1835,  there  approached  one  of  the  most  momentous  periods  of 
our  national  history,  namely,  that  session  of  Congress  dtiring  which 
was  originated  and  conducted  with. such  talent  and  fiery  zeal  on  either 
side,  that  discussion  of  the  Tariff  question,  which  had  well-nigh  rent 
the  Union,  and  filled  the  land  with  civil  war  and  bloodshed.     Just 


MR.   wise's   EULOGIUM.  239 

before  this  memoi'able  session,  Mr.  Calhoun  resigned  the  Vice  Presi- 
dency — which  resignation  called  Judge  White  to  occupy  a  position 
still  more  responsible  and  conspicuous  than  any  he  had  hitherto 
filled.  How  fully  he  met  the  expectations  of  the  body  that  promoted 
him,  and  of  the  nation  at  large,  in  this  season  of  impending  danger, 
is  now  a  matter  of  history.  The  firmness,  impartiality,  decision,  and 
dignity  with  which  he  presided  over  these  stormy  debates,  were  com- 
mended by  the  Hon.  Henry  A.  Wise,  during  the  debate  in  Congress 
on  the  Treasury  note  bill. 


I  should  have  remembered  (sayS  Mr.  Wise)  another  model  of  wisdom, 
and  virtue,  and  patriotism  whom  I  have  seen,  and  seen  in  all  situations 
of  life — long  and  intimately  did  I  know  him — well  did  I  love  him,  and 
sacredly  do  I  cherish  his  memory.  He  is  no  more.  I  wish  I  could  imi- 
tate his  virtuous  and  hallowed  example  in  life.  I  mean  the  lamented 
Hugh  Lawson  White,  a  servant  of  Tennessee,  a  son  of  North  Carolina, 
without  whose  aid  the  compromise  act  never  could  have  become  a  law — • 
witho-ut -whose  patriotism  and  firmness  there  would  have  been  a  civil 
•war  upon  a  sovereign  State,  and  upon  the  Union.  South  Carolina  ought 
to  be  told  of  this,  who,  in  1836,  threw  her  vote  from  him,  her  best 
defender  against  a  tyrant.  When  this  act  was  before  the  Senate,  he  .was 
president  pro  tem.  of  that  honorable  body.  He  was  in  the  chair,  and  had 
the  appointment  of  the  committee  which  had  to  consider  the  report 
■upon  the  plan  of  adjusting  the  tariff  difficulties.  In  this  high  place,  with 
thi^  power,  he  was  warned — I  will  not  say  by  whom* — not  to  piit  a  cer- 
tain gentleman  (John  M.  Clayton,  of  Delaware)  on  the  committee. 
The  reason  was,  that  there  were  rival  plans,  one  proposed  by  the  Sena- 
tor from  Kentucky,  of  whom,  and  whose  measures  that  gentleman  was 
the  friend ;  and  the  other  plan  was  that  of  the  Administration  then  in 
power.  That  Administration  was  governed  by  one  of  two  motives, 
perhaps  by  both,  in  wishing  to  defeat  this.  act.  They  wished,  certainly, 
to  give  preference  to  their  own  plan,  and  to  deprive  the  authors  of  this 
of  the  honor  of  the  compromise ;  and,  perhaps,  the  head  and  chief 
wished  nothing  so  much  as  the  opportunity  to  .apply  "the  second 
section"  to  the  leaders  of  resistance  whom  he  charged  more  with  treason 
to  Mm  personally  than  to  the  country.  The  president  pro  tem.  of  the 
Senate  knew  well  the  danger  of  defeating  this  act,  but  when  orders  were 
issued  to  him  not  to  appoint  its  friend  and  advocate  on  the  committee, 
what  was  his  reply  ?  The  reply  of  that  sage,  and  patriot,  and  hero — 
hero  he  was,  for  he  had,  like  his  chief,  been  in  the  wars — his  reply  was  a 

*  By  Gen.  Jackson,  or  by  a  message  from  him. 


240  RrEMOIR   OP   HUGH   LAWSON   WHITE. 

plea  to  the  jurisdiction  of  any  power  to  dictate  the  manner  of  discharging 
his  duty.  He  told  the  man  who  assumed  this  authority :  "  You  are  too 
late.  Mr.  Clayton  is  appointed ;  and,  if  he  was  not,  he  should  be.  I 
voted  for  the  Force  bill  as  a  decision  merely  that  the  Government  had 
the  iwwer  to  execute  its  taics.  I  never  intended  it  should  operate  or 
actually  be  put  in  force  against  any  of  my  countrymen  who  happened  to 
differ  from  me  in  opinion,  and  who  are  as  honest  and  conscientious  in 
their  opinions  as  I  am  in  mine.  And,  havrng  voted  for  it,  I  will  afibrd 
'every  opportunity  to  legislation  in  my  power,  to  prevent  its  effect." 
And  this,  sir,  produced  the  first  cause  of  difference  between  him  and 
Gen.  Jackson.  He  muzzled  the  blood-hounds,  disappointed  his  chief 
of  his  prey,  aided  the  compromise,  and  gave  peace  to  a  distracted 
people. 

Judge  White's  punctuality  and  devotion  to  business,  as  we  have 
remarked,  were  most  exemplary.*  "  His  deportment  in  the  Senate," 
says  a  senatorial  contemporary,  "was  quiet  and  dignified.  He  spoke 
but  little,  but  when  he  did  it  was  to  the  purpose.  He  was  very 
attentive  .to  What  was  going  on ;  and  I  have  often  seen  him  in  his 
seat,  almost  the  only  listener  to  a  dull  speech.  I  once  remarked  to 
him  that  I  thought  him  the  best  listener  to  speakers  of  all  the 
Senate.  His  reply  was  to  this  effect :  '  Well,  it  is  my  duty  to  be 
here;  and  when  a  member  is  speaking,  nothing  else  can  be  done,  so 
I  keep  piy  seat  and  listen  to  him.  I  find  that  I  can  learn  something 
from  even  the  poorest  speech  that  is  made  here.' "  The  writer  adds, 
with  great  truth,  "  This  was  a  just  remark ;  for  however  incompetent 
a  speaker  may  be  to  discuss  the  question  which  is  the  subject  of  his 
speech,  and  however  deficient  in  gener'al  intelligence,  he  will  usually 
suggest  some  facts,  and  make  some  remarks  worthy  the  attention  of 
those  better  informed  and  more  able." 

Judge  White's  regularity  in  attendance  was  extreme  and  remark- 
able. He  was  always  in  his  place.  "  I  know  of  no  man,"  said  a  dis- 
tinguished member  of  Congress,  "  except  Judge  M-arshall,  who  rides 
about  the  city  so  little  in  carriages."  It  was  his  habit  to  repair  to  the 
capitol  every  morning  immediately  after  breakfast,  and  to  spend  the 
timie  in  the  committee-room  until  the  regular  hour  of  convcnins: 
Congress.  So  universally  was  this  the  case  that  he  became  prover- 
bial for  being  the  first  man  in  the  Senate,  and  the  last  to  leave  it. 
Col.  E.  H.  Foster,  his  colleague  during  his  last  terra,  one  day  re- 
marked to  his  companions  that  he  was  determined  to  have  it  said  that 

*  Hon.  John  M.  Niles,  lately  deceased. 


-■    ,  Ills    PUNCTUALITY.  241 

he  had  beaten  Judge  White  at  the  capitol  at  least  once.  Accord- 
ingly, he  departed  one  morning  in  great  haste,  and  upon  reaching 
the  Senate  chamber  found  it  vacant.  Quite  delighted  at  having 
accomplished  what  he  considered  so  great  a  feat,  he  exclaimed :  "  I 
am  satisfied,  I  have  beaten  the  'skeleton'  once  in  my  life."  But 
upon  entering  the  committee-room  he  there  found  the  Judge,  stand- 
ing in  the  middle  of  the  floor,  and  holding  a  bundle  of  papers.  He 
had  a  hearty  laugh  at  the  disappointment  of  Col.  Foster,  who,  seating 
himself,  remarked,  "  It  is  useless  to  try  any  further,  Judge ;  you  are 
entitled  to  the  palm." 

Judge  White  was  not  less  strict  in  the  observance  of  all  arrange- 
ments necessary  for  his  seasonable  arrival  at  Washington,  than  in 
the  performance  of  his  official  duties  when  there.  No  ordinary 
circumstances  prevented  him  from  setting  out  upon  his  journey  at 
the  appointed  time.  The  valley  of  Virginia  being  the  neareiSt  and 
most  frequently  travelled  route,  his  colleagues,  journeying  on  horse^ 
back,  would  frequently  stop  and  rest  a  few  days  with  him.  In 
the  fall  of  1832,  Hon.  Felix  Grundy,  with  another  member,  paid 
the  Judge  a  visit  of  this  kind.  He  had  fixed  upon  the  next  Monday 
morning  to  commence  his  journey.  Sunday  night  a  deep  snow  fell. 
Tha  visitors  did  not  relish  the  idea  of  turning  out  in  such  weather. 
Perceiving  this,  their  host  said,  "  Gentlemen,  here  are  my  house  and 
servants  at  your  service.  Order  what  you  want,  and  make  your- 
selves perfectly  at  home.  The  time  has  come  for  me  to  leave ;  and 
I  must  go."  The  others  made  some  pleasant  remark  in  reply  about 
his  "old  fashioned  habits,"  but  on  the  whole,  thought  it  not  best  to 
separate  themselves  from  such  good  company ;  and  the  three  legisla- 
tors accordingly,  upon  the  Monday  morning,  set  out  together. 

.  On  another  occasion,  he  had  allowed  himself  time  to  make  a  visit 
to  friends  in  Philadelphia.  The  family  invited  certain  of  their 
acquaintances  to  meet  at  their  home  and  pass  the  evening  with  him. 
Judge  White,  however,  without  knowing  this  circumstance,  had  fixed 
upon  that  day  to  leave  the  city,  and  no  importunities  could  induce 
him  to  remain.  He  had  allowed  himself  just  time  enough  to  reach 
Washington  in  season  for  the  meeting  of  Congress;  afid  would  not 
permit  himself  to  be  tardy  even  for  a  day.  On  but  one  occasion  was 
he  ever  absent  from  his  seat  when  Congress  convened ;  and  this  was 
in  1838,  when  he  was  suffering  under  severe  bodily  infirmity.  And 
on  that  occasion,  so  conscientious  was  he,  that  he  intended  to  resign 
•  16  . 


243  MEiMOIR  OP   HUGH   LAWSON   WHITE. 

in  time  for  the  Governor  to  make  a  pro  tempore  appointment ;  and 
actually  sent  in  the  resignation,  which,  however,  the  Governor 
refused  to  accept. 

While  in  the  pay  of  the  country,  he  was  accustomed  to  consider 
his  time,  strength,  and  talents  the  property  of  his  constituents.  He 
suffered  neither  his  private  interests,  his  personal  gratification,  nor 
(as  in  the  case  of  his  speech  on  the  Indian  question)  even  the  keenest 
and  deepest  afflictions,  to  interfere  with  their  claims.  He  not  only 
performed  the  public  duties  of  his  station,  but  was  accustomed 
to  adjust  private  claims  for  individuals,  without  compensation. 
During  his  early  residence  in  Washington,  an  old  Revolutionary 
soldier,  living  in  Claiborne  County,  East  Tennessee,  applied  to  him 
for  the  purpose  of  having  his  name  placed  on  the  pension  list.  His 
claims  proved  valid ;  and  the  Judge  presented  to  the  worn  veteran 
his  pension  certificate,  together  with  all  his  back  pay,  which  amounted 
to  a  sum  more  considerable  than  the  old  man  had  ever  had  at  one 
time.  Said  he,  with  deep  gratitude,  "Judge  White,  how  much  do  I 
owe  you  ?"  *'  Not  one  cent,  sir,"  replied  the  Judge  ;  "  wheii  I  was 
a  whistling  ploughboy,  you  were  fighting  for  the  liberty  of  our  coun- 
try. I  then  knew,  or,  indeed,  cared  but  little  about  it ;  but,  my  old 
friend,  I  have  since  learned  to  estimate  the  value  of  those  efforts ; 
and  to  all  who  fought  our  battles  in  those  '  times  that  tried  men's 
souls'      I  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  I  can  never  repay." 

As  an  instance  of  the  like  scrupulousness  in  fulfilling  prescribed 
duty  we  may  present  an  extract  from  a  letter  wi'itten  to  a  friend  in 
Knoxville,  in  1833,  in  relation  to  his  becoming  a  candidate  for  the 
convention  which  was  to  meet  in  the  next  May,  at  Nashville,  for  the 
purpose  of  amending  the  Constitution  of  Tennessee.     He  says  : 


I  have  reason  to  think  that  Congress  will  be  jn  session  on  the  third 
Monday  in  May,  when  the  Convention  is  to  sit  in  Nashville,  750  miles 
distant.  To  reach  that  point  in  season,  I  must  leave  this  the  first  of 
May,  the  most  important  business  of  the  session  probably  still  unfinished. 
The,  General  Assembly  elected  me  \o  the  Senate.  The  same  body, 
though  not  the  same  men,  fixed  the  time  for  the  meeting  of  the  Conven- 
tion ;  -when  it  must  have  been  expected  that  the  Senate  would  then  be 
in  session.  Under  these  circumstances,  we^re  I  to  abandon  my  post  here, 
for  the  one  proposed,  I  feel  that  I  could  not  assign  any  reason  for  so 
doing,  which  ought  to  be  satisfactory. 


THE    NASHVILLE   CONVENTION.  243 

I  hope,  my  friends,  upon  reflection,  will  see  the  propriety  of  my  de- 
clining to  consent  that  my  name  be  used  as  a  member  of  Convention.  I 
■would  rather  serve  my  friends  and  neighbors  than  any  equal  number  of 
people ;  but  it  ought  to  be  remembered  the  whole  people  of  the  State 
sent  me  here,  and  that  a  small  number  of  the  same  people  cannot  give 
me  leave  of  absence. 


Although  his  other  public  duties  prevented  his  co-operating  with 
his  friends  in  this  important  movement,  yet  he  felt  the  greatest  soli- 
citude on  this  subject,  and  his  anxiety  that  the  power  should  rest 
where  it  belonged,  icith  the  jyeople,  will  be  seen  from  an  extract  of 
another  letter  to  this  same  friend : 


I  have  great  fears  that  the  alterations  which  may  be  made  in  the  Con- 
stitution will  not  really  be  amendments.  The  idea  ought  to  be  constantly 
impressed  upon  the  public  mind,  that  no  alteration  will  be  part  of  the 
Constitution,  until  approved  by  a  vote  of  the  people.  In  the  proposed 
amendments  the  Convention  should  insert  a  provision,  that  the  Consti- 
tution shall  remain  as  it  now  is,  unless  the  people,  by  their  vote,  shall 
sanction  the  proposed  amendments. 

When  Judge  White  entered  the  Senate,  he  was  fifty-two  years  of 
age,  five  feet  eleven  inches  in  height,  of  erect  form,  very  slender  but 
graceful  proportions,  and  with  a  firm  and  elastic  step.  His  brow  was 
broad  and  full,  his  eyes  blue,  and  deeply  set ;  and  his  firmly  com- 
pressed lips  bore  testimony  to  his  unwavering  tenacity  of  purpose. 
His  abundant  gray  hair  was  thrown  back  from  his  forehead,  and 
curled  at  considerable  length  upon  his  shoulders ;  its  silvery  waves 
adding  to  his  venerable  and  remarkable  appearance.  The  usual 
expression  of  his  face  in  repose  was  sad.  When  thought  deepened, 
this  sadness  gave  way  to  a  look  of  sternness.  But  both  these  were 
dissipated  under  the  influence  of  his  social  feelings;  and  at  such 
times  his  whole  countenance  became  illuminated  with  a  bright  ex- 
pression of  kindness. 

By  the  talents  and  virtues,  the  strength  and  integrity  of  character 
displayed  in  this  eminent  station,  by  zeal  for  the  promotion  of  the 
public  good,  by  uniform  moderation  and  love  of  justice,  by  jealous 
watchfulness  over  the  public  wealth,  by  that  indifi'erence  to  public 


244  MEMOIR   OF   HUGH   LAWSON   WHITE. 

honors  whicli  prevented  him  from  ever  canvassing  for  any  office,  or 
from  any  otber  demonstration  than  the  mere  expression  of  his  wil- 
lingness to  fill  such  places  as  might  render  him  useful,  Judge  White 
acquired  his  high  rank  among  the  first  men  of  the  nation,  and  his 
extended  and  firmly  based  influence  among  its  masses;  and  like, 
wise  the  expressive  and  appropriate  surname  of  "  The  Cato  of  the 
Republic." 


.r.>. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

HIS   FIRST   POLITICAL   POSITION — ITS    SUBSEQUENT   CHANGE. 

When  Judge  White  entered  the  Senate  in  1825,  Mr.  Adams  was 
the  occupant  of  the  Presidential  chair.  Supposing  that  the  General 
Assembly  expected  him  not  to  array  himself  in  the  party  ranks  either 
of  the  Administration,  or  of  its  opponents,  but  to  act  simply  as  the 
servant  of  his  country,  and  to  vote  as  in  his  judgment  would  best 
promote  its  interests ;  he  was  ready  to  give  to  the  measures  of  the 
Administration  his  prompt  and  efficient  aid,  so  far  as  those  measures 
coincided  with  republican  principles.        /  .  V.    '^'* '•  **' 

He  believed  that  those  who  denied  to'the  federal  government  all 
power  except  that  which  is  granted  in  express  terms,  or  Avhick 
is  necessary  to  carry  into  effect  some  power  expressly  granted,  ex- 
pounded the  Constitution  more  correctly  than  those  who  contended 
for  the  exercise  of  implied  powers.  Being  here  associated  with  men, 
who  espoused  different  sides  of  all  the  doubtful  political  questions  then 
agitating  the  country,  and  who  were  in  every  way  well  qualified  to  dis- 
cuss them,  his  mind  settled  down,  before  the  election  of  Gen.  Jackson 
to  the  Presidency,  in  favor  of  all  those  great  political  principles,  which 
were  adopted  by  that  President,  in  the  outset  of  an  administration, 
undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  marked  and  eventful  in  the  political 
history  of  the  countrj'.  We  have  every  evidence,  that  Judge  White 
was  something  more  than  a  mere  szipporter  of  this  party,  which  a 
friend  of  General  Jackson  says  was  "  more  perfect  in  its  organization, 
and  more  lasting  in  its  duration,  than  any  before  established,  givino- 
its  own  line  of  statesmen  and  its  own  course  of  policy  to  the  country ; 
a  party  which  was  to  exert  a  stronger  influence  upon  the  world,  and 
to  cause  a  greater  increase  of  the  wealth,  territory,  and  population  of 
the  republic,  than  any  had  yet  caused  or  exerted. 

As  an  evidence  of  General  Jackson's  regard  for  Judge  White,  and 
of  his  appreciation  of  the  aid  rendered  him  by  the  latter  in  founding 
his  political  system,  we  shall  here  give  a  few  extracts  from  unpublished 

245 


246  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

letters,  showing  that  he  may  in  fact  be  considered  the  author  of  many 
of  the  leading  measures  of  General  Jackson's  Administration.  The 
first  two  are  from  General  Jackson,  and  were  written  immediately 
after  his  elevation  to  the  Presidency.  The  first  is  dated  Hermitage, 
Oct.  17,  1828 : 

I  thank  you  kindly  for  the  suggestions  you  have  made,  and  will  always 
thank  you  for  your  friendly  counsel.  We  have  grown  up  together,  have 
passed  to  the  top  and  over  the  hill  of  life  together,  and  permit  me  to 
assure  you  there  is  no  one  in  wliOm  I  have  greater  confidence,  in  their 
honor,  integrity,  and  judgment  than  in  yours. 

The  second  letter  bears  date  Judge  Overton's,  Dec.  31,  1828.^ 

It  will  give  me  pleasure  at  all  times  to  receive  youy  views  upon  all  arid 
every  subject;  you  have  my  confidence  and  friendship,  and  to  you  and 
Major  Eaton  I  look  as  my  confidential  friends. 

After  General  Jackson  went  to  Washington — Mr.  Tazewell,  who 
was  a  warm  friend  of  Judge  White's,  and  a  firm  supporter  of  General 
Jackson's  Administration  says : 

Judge  "White  was  one  ancf  I  helieve  the  most  confidential  of  all  his 
advisers,  as  well  before  as  after  his  inauguration,  while  the  Senate  con- 
tinued in  session.  I  have  good  reason  to  justify  the  opinion,  that  many 
of  the  most  important  measures,  adopted  by  the  President  during  that 
period  were  the  result  of  the  sound  advice  given  to  him  by  Judge  "White, 
in  whom  the  President  then  reposed  the  most  unlimited  confidence — a 
confidence  zealously  reciprocated  by  the  Judge,  whose  personal  attach- 
ment to  General  Jackson  was  most  ardent  and  devoted. 

"When  the  Senate  adjourned  in  1829,  Judge  "White  went  home  and  did 
not  return  until  the  commencement  of  the  next  session.  I  was  prevented 
fi-om  taking  my  place  in  that  body  until  Feb.  1830.  Very  soon  after  I 
took  my  seat,  I  saw  very  plainly  that  new  relations  had  sprung  up  between 
the  President  and  some  of  his  former  friends.  Judge  "White  did  not  seem 
to  have  observed  this ;  and  his  feelings  toward  General  Jackson  remained 
unchanged,  although  it  was  evident  to  all  others,  that  he  no  longer  occupied 
the  same  place  in  the  estimation  of  the  President  which  he  had  done.  I 
never  knew  the  cause  of  this  apparent  estrangement,  but  thought  it 
might  he  easily  conjectured. 

The  cause  which  led  to  a  dissolution  of  General  Jackson's  cabinet 
in  1831,  was  General  Jackson's  determination  to  h^ave  Mr.  Van  Buren 


LETTER   FROM   MR.    POLK.     -  24'3' 

elected  his  successor,  and  to  attain  this  end  it  was  determined  to  disr 
miss  such  cabinet  officers  as  were  unfavorable  to  this  purpose,  and  to 
appoint  others,  Avho  could  be  moulded  to  it ;  those  who  sanctioned  it 
having  voluntarily  resigned.  And  notwithstanding  this  apparent 
estrangement  which  was  so  obvious  to  all.  General  Jackson  again 
tendered  the  war  department  to  Judge  White,  and  the  pertinacity 
with  which  it  was  urged  upon  him  will  be  seen  from  the  following 
letters.  One  of  thei^e  selected  from  among  a  large  number,  because 
it  was  written  at  the  instance  of  the  President;  and  the  others,  show 
the  opinion  which  their  authors  (of  whom  the  next  chapter  treats) 
entertained  of  Judge  White  at  that  day : 

Columbia,  May  Hth,  1S31. 

My  Dear  Sib  :  The  last  mail  brought  us  the  letters  of  resignation  of 
Mr.  Van  Buren  and  Major  Eaton,  and  also  a  rumor,  which  I  doubt  not  ig 
true,  of  the  resignation  of  tlie  other  members  of  the  cabinet.  This  event 
I  cannot  say  surprised  me  much.  We  had  reason  to  apprehend  an  explo- 
sion of  some  sort,  but  could  not  anticipate  the  manner  or  the  time  at 
which  it  would  occur.  lam  anxious  to  see  the  lettei-s  of  resignation  of 
the  other  members  of  the  cabinet,  whicli  have  not  yet  reached  us. 
Should  all  have  retired  in  such  a  manner  as  to  impress  upon  the  public 
mind  the  idea  that  a  part  did  s,o  voluntarily,  and  a"  part  by  coercion,  I 
cannot  see  that  the  party  or  the  .country  is  to  be  affected  by  it.  That  the 
new  cabinet,  profiting. by  a  knowledge  of  the  difficulties  which  their 
predecessors  had  to  encounter,  will  act  in  harmony  with  each  other,  and 
with  the  President  I  have  no  doubt.  Avoiding  the  causes  which  have 
led  tq  the  present  state  of  things,  I  doiibt  not  that  their  labors  will  prove 
enfinently  beneficial  to  the  country,  by  sustaining  the  great  principles 
which  have  marked  the  course  of  the  Administration, 

I  need  not  assure  you  that  I  am  highly  gratified  to  find  your  name, 
among  those  whom  it  is  said  the  President  intends  to  invite  into  his 
cabinet.  Upon  this  point  but  one  sentiment  has  been  expressed  among 
our  intelligent  and  common  friends  liere.  In  the  course  of  his  Adminis- 
tration the  President  has  had  many  difficulties  to  contend  with,  not 
among  the  least  of  which,  has  been  the  want  of  harmony,  and  concert  of 
action,  among  his  confidential  and  constitutional  advisers.  As  against 
an  organized  and  vindictive,  and  I  may  add,  in  some  respects,  unprinci- 
pled opposition,  he  never  had  nor  has  he  now  anything  to  fear.  I  know 
he  iTas  unlimited  confidence  in  you,  and  in  this  his  hour  of  need  will  1 
have  every  reason  to  believe  be  anxious  to  have  your  assistance  in  the 
Administration.  Should  he  invite  you  to  a  place  in  his  cabinet  I  trust 
you  may  reconcile  it  to  your  sense  of  duty  and  propriety  to  accei)t,  and 
that  no  considerations  may  induce  you  to  decline.     Your  friends  in  the 


243  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

fitate  may  regret  to  lose  your  services  in  tlie  Senate,  but  no  one  of  them 
sincerely  attached  to  our  cause  can,  I  think,  or  would  for  one  moment 
besitate,  not  only  to  assent  to  your  acceptance  of  the  new  station,  should 
it  be  offered  to  you,  but  to  advise  it.  We  would  hazard  nothing  I  think 
in  supi)lying  your  place  in  the  Senate  with  a  man  of  the  right  politics, 
though  none  can  be  found  in  whom  the  people  of  the  State  would  have 
60  much  confidence  as  in  yourself.  I  trust  therefore  that  you  will  duly 
appreciate  nay  motive's,  when"I  insist  that  you  will  not  decline  if  invited 
by  "the  President  (of  which  I  have  no  doubt),  to  accept  a  place  in-  his 
councils. 

Very  sincerely  and  truly, 

Your  friend,. 

James  K.  Polk. 


NiSHViLLE,  Miiy  nth,  1831. 
Dear  Sir  :  I  hope  before  this  time,  you  have  accepted  the  ofiice  of 
Secretary  of  War.     If  not,  I  now  write  for  the  purpose  of  uniting  my 
solicitations  and  that  of  my  neighbors  in  favor  of  your  acceptance. 

There  is  entire  confidence  here  in  the  proposed  new  cabinet — for  myself 
I  can  say,  it  affords  the  first  clear  sunshiny  political  weather  I  have  seen 
for  some  time.  Whatever  your  diffidence  may  suggest,  rely  on  one  thing, 
there  is  no  other  man  who  under  all  the  circumstances  Avill  unite  so  much 
public  confidence — all  past  notions  of  non-acceptance  of  office  &c.,  should 
be  surrendered  at  this  time  for  the  public  good. 

Your  friend, 

'    '      Fklix  Grttndt. 


Nashville,  May  Ut,  1S31. 
My  Dear  Sir  :  When  the  news-  reached  us  (1st  May),  of  the  resigna- 
tion of  the  cabinet,  the  same  account  brought  the  suggestions  of  the  suc- 
cessors.    From  that  time  until  yesterday  I  have  been  to  Kentucky  on  a 
visit  to    my  parents.      That  the  war  department  has  been  tendei-ed 
to  you,  I  am  told  is  true.     I  have  been  out  amongst  the  people  since 
the  report  went  forth,  in  the  south  of  Kentucky,  and  in  Tennessee. 
For  a  range  of  150  miles  I  am  sure  of  public  opinion.     It  is  not  only  in 
favor  of  your  accepting,  but  that' no  man  could  be  found  so  likely  to  fill 
the  station  satisfiictorily  to  tlie  West  and  South— and  all  things  considered 
it  was  the  very  best  selection  that  could  have  been  made — the  Clay  men 
generally  said  to  me — "  with  Hugh  Whitp,  we  are  perfectly  satisfied."     So 
I  find  opinion  here.     The  desire  that  you  should  accept,  is  most  anxious 
with  the  Jackson  men,  and  your  declining  would  dishearten  very  many, 
under  the  impression  of  difficulties  attending  the  administration  of  the 
government,  that  deterred  the  most  prudent,  and  efficient  men  from 


rUBLIC    COS^FIDENCE    IN    JUDGE    WHITE.  249 

taking  office  nnder  it.     A  tiling  tlie  iai'thest  imaginable  from  being  true, 
undei"  tlie  present  as[)ect  of  affairs. 

I  think  it  dne  to  tlie  country,  and  the  party  of  our  opinion  politically, 
that  yon  should  accept  the  office. 

I  would  not  have  written  yon,  but  our  friend  General  Coffee,  on  being 
informed  of  the  facts  above,  suggested  the  propriety  of  my  writing — say- 
ing he  liad  done  so — and  if  it  did  no  good — no  harm  could  come  of  it. 

As  a  Western  man,  I  should  feel  disagreeable  with  all  strangers  in  the 
cabinet — one  old  acquaintance  of  General  J.  ought  to  be  there — and  a 
man  not  Avanting  too  much  hereafter — one  that  feels  as  if,  "  in  the  fork  of 
the  poplar,  safe  from  the  pack."  Out  of  Tennessee  he  cannot  be  found. 
If  you  refuse,  we  will  feel  restive,  unsafe,  and  anxious. 

The  Kentucky,  people  in  the  south  of  the  3tate  are  generally  for  office 
on  the  Clay  side — the  aspirants  are  waiting  until  tliey  are  wearing  out 
with  age — are  becoming  doubtful  that  a  union  of  N.  Light  Federaligts 
with  Kentucky  republicans,  if  possible,  cannot  last — are  dropping  off,  and 
if  the  government  is  successfully  administered,  will  not  long"  seriously 
oppose'it.     S»ch  are  the  symptoms  at  present. 

JFor  your  health  and  happiness  accept  my  be^t  wishes. 

J.  N.  Oateon. 


Washington  City,  \it  May,  1831. 

Dear  Judge  :  I  have  just  parted  from  the  President.  He  informs  me, 
confidentially,  that  you  have  declined  the  office  of  Secretary  of  "War. 
The  6ld  man  said  he  wrote  y,ou  yesterday,  urging  you  still  to  accept. 

I  know  your  friendship  for  the  President,  and  I  know,  too.  Judge,  the 
sacrifices  you  have  ever  been  willing  to  make  for  the  love  of  your  country. 
I  write  this  at  the  request  of  the  old  General,  because  he  says  I  have 
been  present  here,  and  can  describe  plainly  to  you  the  situation  of  things 
as  they  are.  ,  The  old  man  says,  that  all  his  plans  will  be  defeated  unless 
you  agree  to  come ;  sbould  it  be  but  for  a  period  short  of  the  continuance 
of  his  Administration.  The  pubhc  have  settled  down  on  you,  Judge,  as 
the  man.  The  wishes  and  coiifidence  of  every  one*  seem  to  require  your 
acceptance.  Nothing  that  you  can  offer  will  satisfy  your  friends; 
because,  as  the  old  man  says — this  is  a  crisis  in  which  he  wishes  his  best 
friends  to  be  with  him — aiid  you  well  know  that  you  are  the  nearest ;  so 
he  declares.  Judge — now  for  my  own  views.  The  good  of  the  country — 
the  honor  of  your  best  friend — the  character  of  the  State — and,  lastly,  it 
must  not  be  said,  that  aid  is  refused  the  old  chief  from  Tennessee,  and 
that,  too,  by  Judge  White. 

Judge,  pardon  me  for  attempting  to  influence  you.     I  write  because  I 
know  you  will  do  one  thing,  and  that  is,  believe  what  I  say.     Could  you 


250  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

but  witness  the  anxiety  of  the  General,  and  the  distress  that  follows, 
under  the  supposition  that  you  will  not  join  him,  I  know  you  would 
yield.  Yours  truly, 

,  F.  W.  Aemstrong. 

The  importunities  of  these  mutual  friends  did  not  succeed  in  effect- 
ing their  object,  and  it  was  determined  to  make  another  attempt  to 
operate  upon  Judge  White  from  another  quarter.  For  this  purpose 
General  Jackson,  accompanied  by  .Judge  White's  brother-in-law. 
Judge  Overton,  visited  Virginia,  and  conferred  with  Mr.  Tazewell ;  as 
it  was  well  knowb  that  the  relations  existing  betvireen  Mr.  Tazewell 
and  Judge  White  were  of  the  most  intimate  and  friendly  character. 
Mr.  Tazewell,  in  speaking  of  the  alienation  of  General  Jackson  from 
Judge  White,  says : 

Under  this  impression,  I  was  somewhat'  astonished  at  an  incident 
which  I  will  now  relate.  During  the  summer  or  fall  of  1831,  General 
Jackson,  accompanied  by  Judge  Overton,  of  Tennessee,  paid  a  visit  to 
Old  Point  Comfort,  a  wat5i-ing  place  not  very  for  from  here.  So  soon  as 
I  was  able,  after  I  was  informed  of  their  arrival  there,  I  called  to  see 
them.  Upon  this  occasion,  I  was  told  by  Judge  Overton,  that  the  office 
of  Secretary  of  War,  then  ^vacant,  either  had  been  or  would  be  offered  to 
our  friend  Judge  White ;  and  I  was  asked  my  opinion  as  to  his  qualifica- 
tions to  fill  it,  and  as  to  the  probability  of  his  accepting  it.  To  these 
inquiries  I  replied  promptly,  that  the  war  department,  during  several 
years  past,  had  been  getting  into  much  confusion,  as  I  thought,  and  that 
none  of  my  acquaintance  was  so  well  calculated  to  restore  it  to  order  as 
Judge  White,  of  whose  unwearied  industry  and  sound  judgment  I  had 
had  the  best  opportunity  to  form  a  correct  opinion.  But  that  from  my 
knowledge  of  him,  I. did  not  believe  that  he  vyould  accept  such  an 
appointment.  Judge  Overton  concurred  in  the  opinions  I  had  expressed  ; 
and  as  I  believe  communicated  them  to  the  President.  For  in  a  very  short 
time,  similar  inquiries  were  addressed  to  me  by.  the  President  himself,  to 
which  I  returned  the  same  answfers."  He  too  expressed  his  apprehensions 
that  Judge  White  might  not  accept;  and  requested  that  I  would  write  to 
him,  advising  him  to  do  so.  With  this  request  I  declined  to  comply, 
stating  to  Gen.  Jackson  as  my  reason  for  doing  so,  that  I  thought  it  would 
be  indelicate  on  my  pkrt  to  give, such  advice  to  anyone  situated  as 
Judge  White  then  was.  I  had  just  heard  of  the  sad  domestic  bereave- 
ment with  which  he  had  been  afflicted. 

When  we  met  in  Washington,  at  the  commencement  of  the  next  session 
of  the  Senate,  I  communicated  to  Judge  White  the  substance  of  ^v'hat 
had  occurred.    lie  then  informed  me,  that  the  war  department  had  been 


SINGUL.Ui    POSITION    OF    JUDGE    WHITE.  251 

offered  to  liim,  which  he  had  promptly  declined;  and  thanked  me,  with 
much  feeling,  for  the  part  I  had  taken  in  the  subject,  of  'which  Judge 
Overton  had  informed  him. 

His  utter  refusal  to  accept  this  position  under  Gen.  Jackson,  .and 
thereby  to  aid  in  the  elevation  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  to  the  Presidency ; 
his  firmness  and  impartiality  in  favoring  Mr.  Clay's  compromise  in 
1832  ;  his  endeavors  to  check  the  constantly  increasing  patronage  of 
the  executive,  by  voting  against  large  appropriations,  to  be  expended 
as  the  President  might  choose ;  and  above  all,  his  permission  to  his 
friends  to  use  his  name  as  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  in  opposi- 
tion to  Mr.  Van  Buren,  gradually  alienated  Gen.  Jackson  from  him, 
and  at  last  widened  the  breach  "between  them,  until  they  became 
totally  sepai-ated  in  their  feelings  and  principles. 

Judge  White's  position  in  the  Senate  now  became  singular.  If 
there  was  any  one  of  his  own  political  sect  whose  judgment  coincided 
.with  his,  the  moral  courage  was  wanting  to  stand  by  the  side  of  one 
looked  upon  as  a  victim  marked  Ibr  destruction.  But  this  isolation  had 
no  terroi's  for  judge  White.  '  Although  his  course  was  necessarily 
solitary,  yet  it  was  marked  with  a  fixed  determination  at  any  hazard 
"  to  maintain  what  he  believed  sound  p'inciples  and  sound  practices, 
under  the  supposition  that  his  constituents,  when  they  re-elected  him 
to  office  in  1835,  intended  he  should  resist  evert/  attempt  of  ike 
executive  through  his  patro7iage  to  influence  public  opinion;"  and  but 
few  public  men  ever  received  such  decided  marks  of  approbation,  or 
were  so  fully  sustained  in  their  course,  as  he  by  the  people  of  his  own 
State. " 

When  the  subject  of  the  Presidency  was  agitated  in  1838,  and  Mr. 
Clay  and  Mr.  Van  Buren  seemed  likely  to  be  the  favorite  candidates 
of  the  two  parties,  Judge  White,  Afho  had  opposed  the  ruinous  policy 
pursued  by  the  latter,  in  his  administration  of  the  government,  did 
not  stand  aloof  because  he  could  not  find  a  candidate  to  suit  his  own 
views  in  every  particular.  Had  it  been  his  province  to  nominate  one, 
he  would  not  have  selected  either  of  these  gentlemen,  as  he  differed 
from  them  both  upon  important  questions ;  biit  as  this  was  not  his 
prerogative,  and  he  felt  no  disposition  to  occupy  a  neutralposition,  he 
deemed  it  expedient  to  support  the  one  whose  policy  would  best  pro- 
mote the  interests  of  the  country.  With  these  views  his  choice  was 
fixed  upon  Mr.  Clay,  and  he  avowed  his  determination  as  a  private 
citizen  to  sustain  him  for  the  Presidency — but  at  the   same   time 


252  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

declared  his  purpose  to  resist  in  the  Senate,  any  measure  which  in  his 
judgment  might  be  adverse  to  the  prosperity  of  the  nation.  Instead 
of  Mr.  Clay,  Gen.  Harrison  was  the  nominee  of  the  Harrisburg  Con- 
vention, and  although  Judge  "White  would  have  preferred  the  former, 
he  announced  his  determination  to  support  the  new  candidate.  Tliis 
he  would  doubtless  have  done  in  good  faith  had  his  life  been  spared. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

RELATIOIfS    TO    MESSES.    GRUNDY,   POLK,   JOHNSON    AND    CATRON. 

The  peculiar  relations  which  these  gentlemen  sustained  to  Judge 
White,  and  the  prominent  position  they  occupied  as  politicians,  ren- 
der it  necessary  to  take  special  notice  of  their  course.  Judge 
Grundy  was  for  a  number  of  years  Judge  White's  colleague  in  the 
Senate.  They  all  belonged  to'  the  same  political  party.  Although 
not  on  terms  of  particular  intimacy,  they  labored  together  harmo- 
niously up  to  1834,  on  most  points  of  importance.  Judge  White 
had  the  kindest  feelings  towards  his  colleague,  and  never  doubted  the 
sincerity  of  his  professions,  until  certain  developments  connected  with 
a  meeting  at  Washington,  which  was  designed  to  test  Judge  White's 
strength  in  the  Tennessee  delegation,  proved  that  his  friendship  was 
not  to-  be  relied  upon.  About  this  juncture,  affairs  connected  with 
Judge  Grundy's  course  in  regard  to  the  U,  S.  Bank,  proved  that 
the  suspicions  awakened  as  to  his  fidelity  were  not  without  founda- 
tion. 

To  Mr.  Polk,  Judge  White  was  very  much  attached.  During  the 
session  of  1833-34,  when  he  and  Col.  Bell  were  both  run  for 
speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  Judge  White  wrote  to  the 
editor  of  the  Knoxville  Register — "Polk  and  Bell  were  both  run  for 
speaker ;  the  latter  is  elected.  I  fear  a  want  of  kind  feelings  between 
them  may  grow  out  of  the  canvass,  and  be  the  means  of  dividing,  at 
home,  those  who  now  pass  for  friends.  Both  are  to  me  like  children ; 
therefore  I  took  no  part  in  the  contest. 

"  Justice  to  these  gentlemen,  as  well  as  sound  policy,  requires  that 
nothing  should  be  said,  or  done,  which  can  have  the  effect  of  wound- 
ing the  feelings  of  either." 

Some  months  after  this,  during  the  summer  of  1834,  Judge 
White's-  name  was  freely  used  in  connection  with  the  Presidency. 
Unon  hearing  of  some  threats  from  Gen.  Jackson  of  what  he  would 

253 


254  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    "WHITE, 

do,  in  sucli  an  event— Judge  White  addressed  a  letter  to  his  friend 
Mr.  Polk,  and  received  the  foUowiug-  answer : — 

Columbia,  Sept.  id,  1834. 
Mt  Dear  Sir  :  I  received  your  letter  of  the  26th  ult.  on  yesterday. 
T  am  sui;]n-ised  and  astonished  at  the  information  Avhich  has  been 
communicated  to  you — that  one  of  your  oldest  and  most  valued  fnends* 
now  high  in  office^  has  said  that  "  he  will  denounce  you  as  soon  as  it  is 
ascertained  tliat  you  are  icllling  to  te  a  candidate.,''''  Sc.  There  must  be 
some  mistake  about  it.  It  certainly  cannot  be  so ;  and  unless  your 
information  comes  in  a  most  unquestionable  shape  I  should  be  slow  to 
believe  it,  but  should  much  sooner  suspect  that  the  communication  came 
from  an  interested  source,  or  from  one  having  some  object  to  eifect,  by 
separating  in  feeling  at  least,  old  and  long  tried  personal  and  political 
friends.  It  lias  jiot  been  a  great  while  since  the  person  to  whom  I  pre- 
sume you  must  allude,  gave  public  evidence  of  the  estimate  inSvhich  he 
held  your  private  and  public  character ;  as.  well  as  of  your  capacity  for 
high  office,  by  his  wiUingness  to  have  you  associated  with  him  in  highly 
confidential  and  responsible  public  relations.  This  opinion  of  you  was, 
I  know.,  long  since  that  time  unchanged,  and  I  have  never  hfid  any  reason 
to  believe,  lor  one  moment,  that  his  former  contidence  in  you'  was  in  the 
slightest  degree  impaired.  I  would  much  sooner  suspect  the  accuracy  of 
my  information  therefore,  than  yield  for  an  instant  to  the  impression 
which  the  information  itself  is  calculated  to  make  upon  your  mind. 
Nothing  could  pain  mutual  firiends-  more,  than  the  idea,  that  anything 
could  occur,  to  break  up,  or  in  the  least  disturb  the  intimate  relation  of 
private  friendships  whicJi  have  existed  for  more  than  forty  years,  or  to 
separate  those  now  in  the  evening  of  life,  who  for  so  many  years  have 
acted  together  upon  public  aflftiirs,  and  who  have  always  agreed — with 
pei'haps  unimportant  exceptions — upon  all  measures  of  public  policy,  and 
especially  those  which  have  engaged  the  public  attention,  during  the 
present  and  pending  Administration. 

I  am  very  sincerely. 

Your  friend  and  obt.  servt., 

James  K.  Polk. 

It  would  appear  from  the  contents  of  the  above  letter  that  Mr. 
Polk  was  at  that  time  not  well  informed  as  to  the  sentiments  of  Gen. 
Jackson  in  regard  to  his  successor ;  but  so  soon  as  he  became  fully 
satisiied  on  this  subject,  a  certificate  which  we  will  insert  presently, 
will  show,  that  his  determination  was  taken,  to  shape  his  course 
according  to  the  President's  wishes,  although   motives  of  personal 

*  Gen.  Jackson. 


TIEE    PKESIDENCY.  255 

poHc)',  and  the  watchful  eye  he  ever  kept  in  the  direction  of  his  own 
political  ao;o;randizement,  decided  him  not  to  define  his  position  until 
after  his  re-election  the  ensuing, x\iigust. 

■  It  was  already  understood  that  the  party  would  support  "^e  nomi- 
nee of  tlie  Baltimore  Convention.  Judge  White's  friends  determined 
that  at  the  nieeting  which  was  organized  to  test  his  streno-th,  his 
claims  should  he  presented  without  respect  to  this  convention.  No 
one  better  knew  than  Messrs.  Grundy,  Polk,  and  Johnson,  what 
would  be  the  result  of  the  Baltimore  Convention,  and  none  better 
understood  the  object  of  this  meeting,  and  yet  in  the  face  of  all  this 
they  made  alight  excuses  for  absenting  themselves  from  the  meeting 
— but  at  the  same  time,  avowed  th'at  they  were  in  favor  of  Judge 
Whitef,  and  privately  pledged  themselves  to  his  support,  as  the  certi- 
ficate above  referred  to,  shows. 

The  following  letter  written  a  few  weeks  after  this  meeting  by 
Judge  White  to  E.  Alexander,  Esq.,  shows  the  course  these  gentle- 
men were  pursuing  tov.-ards  him. 

Washington,  Jan.  12,  1S3^ 

My  Deae  Sir:  I  have  avoided,  during  the  present  session,  writing  to 
any  person  when  I  have  not  been  compelled  to  answer  letters,  for  rea- 
sons obvious  to  you. 

While  society  is  employed  in  scrutinizing  my  character  with-a  view  to 
know  whether  they  -^ill  wish  to  employ  me  in  a  public  station  ditFerent 
from  that  which  I  now  occupy,  I  hold  that  I  ought  so  to  conduct  myself, 
as  to  give  no  reason  to  suspect  that  I  am  saying  or  doing  anything  with 
a  view  to  influence  the  public  judgment. 

Three  of  my  colleagues,  Grundy,  Polk,  and  Johnson,  think  the  use  of 
my  name  as  a  candidate  for  the  highest  ofKce  known  to  our  govei-nment, 
may  be  the  means  of  breaking  up  the  democratic  party,  that.it  will  be 
disapproved  by  my  own  State,  and  that  by  not  stopping  th&  use  of  it.  I 
am  placing  myself  in  a  situation  that  must  desti'oy  me  at  liome,  as  well 
as  abroad.  In  this  view  of  things  they  are  zealously  and  cordially  sup- 
ported by  Judge  Catron,  who  has  been  here  some  time.  ^r.  Laughlin 
from  Nashville,  arrived  here  on  the  8th  inst.,  and  it  is  said  comes  here 
to  aid  these  gentlemen  by  his  services  as  a  letter  writer. 

All  the  other  representatives  from  Tennessee  think  differently,  and 
urge,'  in  conversation,  my  pretensions,  and  represent  the  wishes  of  my 
State  as  being'  different  from  wdxat  is  urged  by  Mr.  Grundy  and  those 
who  act  Avith  him.  WWch  of  them  is  right,  I  do  not  profess  to  know. 
All  I  have  said,  and  all  I, will  say  is  that  I  hare  had  no  agency  in  causing 
my  name  to  ie  used  and  I  icill  not  prohihit  the  use  of  it.  My  political 
friends  at  home  and  abroad  I  hope  and  b.elieve  have  not  used  it,  and  will 


256  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

not  use  it  for  any  purpose  other  than  the  interest  of  the  country ;  and 
■whenever  they  are  satisfied  the  country  will  be  injured,  not  benetited, 
by  its  use,  they  will  give  nie  sincere  pleasure  by  witiidrawing  it. 

Neither  Mr.  Grundy,  Colonel  Polk,  Oolouel  Johnson,  nor  Judge  Catron 
has  ever  alluded  to  tlie  subject  in  conversation  with  me,  arid  I  cannot  but 
feel  it  personally unkind,  tliat  any  of  them  should  be  injuring  me  in  the 
judgment  of  strangers  without  knowing /row  myself  yvhether  I  deserve 
their  condemnation  or  not. 

The  honorable  judge  is,  I  think,  treating  me  with  great  unkindness  to 
give  every  body  else  the  benefit  of  the  information  he  has  acquired  in 
his  extensive  travels,  and  withhold  it  all  from  me. 

He  is  viewed  by  souse  of  my  friends  as  a  political  commissary,  sent  out 
to  receive  just  such  news  as  he  has  brought,  and  in  consideration  of  his 
endeavors  to  detract  from  my  standing  here,  and  destroy  me  at  home,  he 
hopes  to  fill  the  first  vacancy  on  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States,  'which  can  with  propriety  be  given  to  liim.  In  all  this 
matter  I  feel  no  personal  interest ;  a  greater  personal  favor  could  not 
well  be  bestowed  on  me,  than  by  leaving  me  at  home  after  the  4th  of 
March  next. 

These  people  are  preparing  for  a  great  effort  in  Tennessee  next  sum- 
mer. They  think  they  can  send  to  the  legislature  such  materials  as  will 
supersede  lue  in  the  Senate,  Thus  dropped,  my  pretensions  to  anything 
else  are  at  an  end. 

I  put  up  no  pretensions  to  anything,  and  therefore  can  never  be  disap- 
pointed. 

Subsequent  events  showed  Judge  White's  surmises  to  be  correct 
A  correspondence  in  February,  1835-,  inay  demonstrate  that  Polk  and 
Johnson,  at  least,  had  determined  to  pick  a  quarrel  with  Judge  White 
if  possible.  He  had  made  certain  inquiries  of  them  as  to  a  nomina- 
tion for  the  district  attorneyship  of  West  Tennessee.  The  note  con- 
taining the  inquiries  was  answered  by  the  following  sour  epistle,  in 
Mr.  Polk's  handwriting : 

Washington  City,  Feb.  25, 1835. 

Dear  Sir  :  "We  have  rectdved  your  letter  of  yesterday,  in  relation  to 
the  nomination  of  Mr.  Brown,  of  Nashville,  to  be  District  Attorney  of 
West  Tennessee,  which  you  inform  us  is  now  pending  before  the  Senate. 
You  express  your  surprise  at  this  nomination,  as  you  "had  not  heard  of 
Mr.  CoUingswortli's  resignation,  and  knew  that  Mr.  Brown  had  come  to 
this  place  as  an  applicant  for  the  office  of  Jud^e  in  Arkansas."  You  state- 
that  we  "are  the  only  merabei's  of  the  Tennessee  delegation  who  have 
recoinraended  Mr.  Brown,"  and  yon  "  therefore  presume"  that  we  "  are 
the  only  ones  here  acquainted  with  tlie  circumstances,"  and  you  "there- 
fore ask"  us  " to  inform"  you  "whether  the  profession  in  Nashville  and 


OORRESPOITOENCE    WITH    POLK    A^STD    JOHNSON".  257 

the  other  parts  of  West  Tennessee  werd  apprised  of  Mr.  Collingsworth's 
resignation,  so  that .  recommendations  for  others  might  have  been  fur- 
nished before  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Brown."  In  answer  to  this  inquiry 
we  have  to  state,  that  it  is  known  to  you,  that  we  left  town  early  in 
November.  At  that  time  we  had  not  heard  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Col- 
lingsworth spoken  of,  and  whether  and  to  what  extent  his  intention  to 
resign  had  subsequently  to  that  time  attained  publicity,  you  as  well  as 
other  members  "of  the  delegation  have  the  same  means  of  knowing  that 
we  have.  *  *  *  "^e  have  to  regret  the  opinion  which  you  seem  to 
have  formed  that  "  the  case  as  it  stands  is  calculated  to  make  the  impres- 
sion that  there  has  been  a  secret  contrivance  to  have  Mr.  Brown 
appointed,  before  his  brother  lawyer  could  be  apprised  that  the  office  was 
vacant."  ."We  are  not  aware  of  any  such  "secret  contrivance."  We  do 
not  believe  that  any  such  exists  ;  but  if  there  be  the  slightest,  grounds  for 
such  an  opinion,  we  are  wholly  ignorant  of  it.  If  it  is  intended  by  you 
to  convey  the  idea  that  w;e  could  be  capable  of  lending  ourselves  to  any 
such  "seci^t. contrivance,"  we  feel  ourselves  called  npon  to  repel  an  in- 
sinuation which,  your  own  sense  of  justice  must  satisfy  you,  nothing  in 
our  conduct,  public  or  private,  has  ever  justified.  You  must  know  that 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  who  made  the  nomination,  is  equally 
incapable  of  lending  himself  to  any  snch  "secret  contrivances,"  for  the' 
advancement  of  any  such  purposes  as  those  indicated  in  your  letter. 
You  must  know  further,  that  the  President  of  the  United  States  was  inti- 
mately acquainted  with  the  members  of  the  bar  at  Nashville,  as  much  so 
as  any  representative  of  the  State  could  be,  and  from  his  knowledge  of 
their  qualifications  and  character  was  in  possession  of  information  to 
enable  him  to  make  the  nomination  without  any  recommendation, what- 
ever. Although  this  was  the  case,  and  was  known  to  us,  still  we  did  not 
hesitate,  at  the  request  of  Mr.  Brown,  to  address  the  letter  in  his  behalf 
to  the  President,  which  we  infer  from  'your  letter,  has  been  communicated 
to  the  Senate,  and  read  by  you.  In  recommending  Mr.  Brown,  we  have 
done  nothing  more  than  we  have  often  done  for  otlier  citizens  of  the 
State,  who  have  desired  Letters  to  be  addressed  to  the  executive  for  ap- 
pointments within  his  gift.  We  think  it  probable  that  you  and  others 
of  the  delegation  have  often  addressed  siich  letters  to  the  President.  *  * 
It  is  proper  that  we  should  add  that  we  have  understood  that  a  recom- 
mendation had  been  signed  by  some  members  of  the  bar  at  NashviUe, 
(though  we  have  never  seen  it),  in  favOr  of  the  appointment  of  another 
person.  The  President,  with  {f  persbnal  knowledge^  of  both  gentlemen, 
as  well  as  of  the  other  members  of  the  bar  at  that  place,  possessed  infor- 
mation altogether  sufiicient  to  enable  him  to  select  a  person  qualified  for 
the  office.    He  has  chosen  to  nominate  Mr.  Brown. 

Your  obedient  servahts, 

Jajies  K.  Polk, 

"0.  Johnson. 
17 


258  MEMOIJB    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

To  this  prickly  eifusion  Judge  White  answered  immediately  and 
temperately,  but  with  all  needed  plainness,  as  follows: 

Gentlemen  :  Your  favor  of  this  date,  in  answer  to  mine  of  yesterday, 
was  handed  me  a  few  minutes  since. 

During  the  last  session  of  Congress  an  idea  was  somehow  taken  up  in 
"West  Tennessee,  that  Mr.  Collingsworth  would  liot  be  re-appointed  ;  and 
several  members  of  the  bar  were  applicants  for  the  office  in  case  it  should 
be  vacant.  Mr.  Collingsworth  was,  however,  appointed  and  continued 
in  office  until  25th  of  January,  when  he  resigned.  His  resignation  was 
received  at  the  State  department  on  the  2d  February,  and  on  the  4th  Mr, 
Brown  w^as  nominated,  and  until  some  days  after  the  nomination,  I  had 
no  knowledge  that  Mr.  Collingsworth  had  resigned.  I  had  been  informed 
that  Mr.  Brown's  bijsiness  here,  was  to  procure  the  office  of  judge  in 
Arkansas. 

Under  these  circumstances  I  really  did  think',  as  I  had  heard  of  no  appli- 
cation on  behalf  of  any  other  gentleman,  and  as  there  did  not  appear 
among  the  papers  any  recommendation  this  winter  from  the  profession, 
that  it  was  my  duty  to  the  profession  to^  make  some  inquiry  to  know 
.whether  they  had  been  fairly  treated.  I  found  no  recommendation  from 
any  of  my  colleagues  except  you,  and  very  naturally  concluded  you  could 
give  me  the  information  I  desired ;  and  I  was  the  more  inclined  to  apply 
"for  it,  having  always  had  a  good  opinion  of  Mr.  CoUingsworth,  with  whom 
I  was  acquainted,  and  having  received  a  very  high  character  of  Mr. 
Brown,  fi-orii  friends  in  whom  I  had  confidence. 

I  regret  to  see  the  spirit  in  which  this  inquiry  is  met  in  your  letter ; 
and  that  you  feel  yourselves  called  upon  to.  "repel"  what  you  are  pleased 
to  fancy  an  imputation  upon  yourselves,  and  upon  the  President  of  the 
United  States.  Neither  of  you  believes  for  one  moment  that  I  intended 
to  insinuate  anything  to  his  disadvantage,  nor  can  you  believe  from  the 
style  of  my  letter  that  I  intended  any  imputation  upon  Mr.  Brown.  I 
sincerely  wish  that  if  ever  the  President  should  be  attacked,  when  he  has 
few  friends,  he  may  find  as  many  zealous  advocates  as  he  now  has  when 
he  has  more  friejids  than  he  can  provide  for. 

I  have  too  long  known  the  President  to  insinuate  aught  to  his  disad- 
vantage, or  that  he  is  capable  of  sanctioning  asecret  contrivance  to  do  any- 
thing incon-ect  if  he  knew  it;  but,  I  tell  you  in  candoi",  that  I  have  not 
the  same  exalted  opinions  of  all  other.  Many  of  those  Avho  beset  him 
with  profession,s  of  friendship,  I  think  every  way  capable  of  making  every 
cent  out  of  him  they  can,  either  by  telling  what  they  know  to  be  untrae, 
t>r  by  suppressing  what  they  know  to  be  true. 

It  will  be  time  enough  for  you  to  repel  insinuations  against  yourselves 
when  you  have  reason  to  think  they  are  made.  When  /make  them,  they 
shall  be  in  language  not  to  be  misunderstood,  and  supported  by  facta 


JUDGE    WHITE   AND   THE   PRESIDENCY.  259 

which  will  remain,  any  efforts  to  repel  them  to  the  contrary  notwith- 
standing. 

I  am,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

,  II 0.  L,  White, 

Despite  these  bold  assertions  by  Messrs.  Polk  and  Johnson,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  of  the  duplicity  of  their  conduct  regarding-  Judge 
White;  and  o(  Mi».  -Grundy's  participation  in  the  same,  tlie  following 
correspondence  respecting  him  and  Mr.  Polk  appears  to  furnish  suffi"- 
cient  evidence.  '  •    -    ' 

You,  sir,  must  remember,  that  as  soon  as  the  subject  of  the  meeting  was 
taken  up,Jt  was  mentioned,  as  a  matter  of  regret,  that  all  the  members 
of  the  delegation  friendly  to  the  Administratioji  were  not  present,  as  it 
was  very  desirable  that  the  views  of  all  should  be  known,  and,  that  what- 
ever course  should  be  resolved  upon,  should  be  done  bv  the  unanimous 
voice  of  the  delegation.     To  this  it  was  replied  by  one  of  the  undersigned 
that  dlthough  a  part  of  the  delegation  were  not  present,  the  absent  gentle- 
men had  been  consulted  upon  the  subject  of  the  meeting,  and  that  their 
views  had  been  expressed,  and  were  known  to  one  or  more  present 
Whereupon  one  of  the  undersigned  (Luke  Lea)  stated  that  he  had  requested 
Col.  Polk  to  attend  the  meeting,  and  that  lie  said  he  did  not  think  he  could 
do  so,  owing-to  the  personja  relations  in  which  he  stood  to  some  of  the 
delegation,  and  asked  tlie  relator's  advice  upon- the  subject,  but  although 
he  declined  attending,  he  stated  he  was  for  Judge  White  in  preference 'to 
any  other  man  for  the  Presidency— that  the  people  of  his  district  were 
for  him,  and  that  he  would  go  as  far  as  any  of  the  delegation,  in  support 
of  his  election  under  any  circumstances  that  he,  Judge  White,  would  per- 
mit his  name  to  be  used.     Another  one  of  the  undersigned  (James  Stan- 
difer)  stated  tliat  he  had  conversed  with  Mr.  Grundy  upon  the  subject  of 
Judge  White's  being  a  candidate,  and  had  requested  him  to  attend  this 
ineeting;  that  Mr.  Grundy  said  that-  he  .did  not  know  that  it  would  be 
altogether  proper  for  hjm  to  attend  the  meeting,  but  if  Judge  White  was 
brought  out,  he  would  show  by  his  actions  that  he  was  as  much  his  friend 
as  any  other  man,  and  would  support  him  in  any  way  in  which  he  would 
permit  his  name  to  be  run.    The  same  member  stated,  that  he  had  seen  Mr 
Blair,  who  was  out  of  the  city  that  evening,  and  that  Mr.  Blair  had  told 
him,  that  Judge  White  was  his  choice;  that  he  would  be  found  as  earnest 
in  his  support  as  any  other  man;  and  that  he  would  co-operate  with  tlie 
delegation  m  whatever  course  they  should  adopt,  t©  bring  Judge  Wliite 
out. 

This  was  the  substance,  and  as  near  the  language  as  we  can  recollect, 
of  the  report  made  in  your  hearing,  of  the  views  of  those  gentlemen  who 
were  absent,  and  whose  co-operation  was  sought.     When  they  had 


260  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

finished,  yoxi  remarked  tlifit,  as  to  Mr.  Grundy  and  Col.  Polk,  you  could 
state,  tliat  tlicy  stated  to  you  last  summer,  at  Nasliville,  that  they  slioukl 
support  Judge  White,  if  he  was  a  candidate.  One  of  the  undersigned 
inquired  whetlier  Mr.  Grundy  and  Col.  Polk  mentioned  in  that  conversa- 
tion whether  they  expected  Judge  Wliite  to  be  nominated  by  a  national 
convention  before  they  would  give  him  their  support.  You  replied,  that 
nothing  was  said  about  a  convention,  and  that  you  understood  tliem  to 
mean  they  would  support  Judge  White,  if  he  was  run  as  a  candidate,  in 
any  way  he  would  sutfer  his  name  to  be  used.  The  undersigned  clearly 
understand  from  what  you  said,  not  only  that  those  gentlemen  were 
anxious  to  run  Judge  White,  but  that  you,  as  their  friend,  were  putting 
in  their  claim  to  be  considered  original  White  men.  They  further  con- 
sidered this  disclosure  as  an  evidence  of  the  zeal  and  sincerity  with  which 
you  espoused  the 'cause  of  J.udge  White. 

[Signed]  James  Standifer, 

Bai>ie  Peyton, 
William  M.  Inge, 
-  -  V  ■«  John  Bell, 

John  B.  Foreester, 
Luke  Lea, 

David  W.  Dickinsoit. 
To  the  Hon.  Cave  Johnson. 

January  %,  1S35. 

P.  S.  In  making  a  report  to  the  meeting  of  what  my  colleague  Mr.  Blair 
said  when  applied  to  to  attend  the  meeting,  I  omitted  to  state  that  Mr.  Blair 
objected  to  any  formal  nomination  of  Judge  White  for  the  Presidency  by 
the  delegation.  I  did  not  understand  that  any  member  of  the  delegation 
proposed  to  nominate  Judge  White  under  their  names. 

James  Standifee. 


I  do  not  recollect  the  particulars  of  the  conversation  which  Mr.  Johnson 
said  took  j^lace  between  him  and  Mr.  Grundy  and  Col.  Polk,  at  Nashville, 
last  summer,  but  the  impression  I  have  is,  that  they  expressed  themselves 
favorable  to  the  pretensions  of  Judge  White  for  the  Presidency. 

Wm.  M.  Inge. 


The  meeting  of  a  part  of  the  Tennessee  delegation  in  Congi*ess,  in  De- 
cember last,  for  the  purpose  of  consulting  together  as  to  the  propriety  of 
running  Judge  White  as  the  successor  of  Gen.  Jackson  to  the  Presidency, 
was  a  project  of  my  own  withoiit  being  prompted  by  any  one.  My 
reasons  for  asking  my  colleagues  to  meet  was,  that  when  talking  to  the 


JUDGE   WHITE   AND   THE   PRESIDENCY.  261 

delegation  they  all,  with  whom  I  spoke  on  the  subject,  said  they  were  in 
favor  of  Judge  White,  but  I  was  occasionally  told  that  Judge  Grundy  and 
Col.  Polk  were  opposed  to  him,  which  I  did  not  believe.  Being  on  the 
strictest  terms  of  friendship  with  Grundy  and  Polk,  I  mentioned  to  them 
the  reports  I  had  hieard,  informing  Col.  Polk  J  had  heard  that  when  he 
passed  through  Pennsylvania  a  short  time  before  the  meeting  of  Congress, 
he  had  been  speaking  in  opposition  to  Judge  White;  he  denied  the  truth 
of  the  report,  and  appeared  angry ;  and  to  convince  me  of  his  attachment  to 
White  he  spoke  in  the  highest  terras  of  him — saying  he  boarded  with  him, 
dnd  complained  that  he  should  be  so  badly  belied.  Col.  Polk  inquired  of 
me  if  Col.  Bell  was  for  Wliite;  I  told  him  I  did  not  know,  I  iinderstood  he 
was  ;  he  said  he  had  understood  that  Bell  had  written  letters,  which  could 
be  produced,  to  some  of  Mr.  VariBuren's  friends,  inducing  tliem  to  think  he 
was  for  Van  Biiren.  I  informed  Judge  Grundy  that  I  had  heard  he  was 
opposed  to  White,  and  was  throwing  difficulties  in  the  way  of  his  election, 
which  he  denied,  and  said  no  man  could  say  so  and  tell  the  truth.  He 
then  inquired  how  Col.  Bell  was  going,  I  told  him  I  did  not  know,  not 
being  in  the  habit  of  conversing  with  him  on  those  subjects,  but  had 
miderstood  he  would  support  White.  Judge  Grundy  observed  that  Bell 
was  playing  a  double  game,  to  which  I  replied,  if  he  was  playing' a  double 
game  I  was  too  old  a  politician  not  to  catch  him.  I  then  determined  to 
ask  a  meeting  of  my  colleagues  for  the  purpose  of  consulting  as  to  the 
propriety  of  running  Judge  White  ;  but  another  object  with  me,  which  I 
did  not  disclose,  was  to  ascertain  who  was  playing  the  double  game. 

The  first  or  second  person  I  spoke  to  in  relation  to  the  meeting,  was 
Col.  Bell,  on  the  morning  of  the  day  before  the  meeting,  on  Pennsylvania 
Avenue,  on  our  way  to  the  Capitol.  When  I  mentioned  the  object  of  the 
meeting,  and  requested  his  attendance,  he  hesitated,  and  spoke  with  cau- 
tion, and  seemed  to  measure  his  words.  He  was  well  apprised  that  I  had 
voted  for  Col.  Polk  againslj  him  for  Speaker,  which  I  supposed  was  the 
reason  of  his  hesitation  when  I  mentioned  tlie  subject  of  the  naeeting  to 
him.  I  insisted  we  ought  to  meet  and  consult  together,  and  ascertain 
whether  we  were  all  for  supporting  Judge  White,  or  what  other  course 
we  had  better  pursue.  He  at  last  said,  if  the  members  of  his  own  State 
met  to  consult  together,  he  did  not  know  that  he  could  refuse.  About 
the  time  of  the  House's  meeting  that  morning,  I  mentioned  the  intended 
meeting  to  such  of  my  colleagues  as  I  saw.  I  saw  Col.  Polk  in  his  com- 
mittee-room, and  mentioned  to  him  the  contemplated  meeting,  and  re- 
quested him  to  Attend.  He  inquii-ed  if  Col.Bell  would  attend  ;  I  told  him 
what  Bell  had  said  to  me,  and  that  I  supposed  he  would.  Col.  Polk  then 
declined,  remarking  that  he  and  Bell  were  not  on  speaking  terms,  and  that 
his  constituents  would  not  approve  of  his  consulting  with  a  man  he  would 
not  speak  to.  I  then  told  Col.  Polk  I  would  ask  Mr.  Lea  to  call  and  see 
him  on  the  subject ;  he  replied  he  woidd  be  glad  to  see  Mr.  Lea  at  any 


263  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON"    WHITE. 

time.    "When  Judge  Grundy  was  requested  to 'attend,  he  made  use  of  the 
expressions  repoifted  to  the  meeting. 

[Signed.]  James  Standifee. 

ilount  Airy.,  August  15,  1858. 

Polk,  Grundy,  Johnson,  and  Catron,  all  became  fierce  opponents  of 
Judge  White,  and  denounced  hinj  as  a  deserter  from  the  Republican 
ranks.  Whether  Judge  Catron  was  working  for  pay  or  not,  must 
perhaps  remain  uncertain.  But  it  is  not  uncertain  that  he  filled  the 
first  vacancy  "that  occurred  afterwards  on  the  Supreme  Bench. 

As  had  been  predicted,  every  means  was  itsed  by  these  gentlemen 
to  induce  the  legislature  of  1835  not  to  re-elect  Judge  White  to  the 
Senate  ;  but  the  people  of  Tennessee  too  well  understood  their  course 
to  be  influenced  by  them.  Mr.  Polk,  however,  was  steady  to  his 
purpose.  From  this  time  forward,  everything  that  could  be  done  was 
done  by  him,  both  j^ublicly  and  privately,  to  injure  Judge  White. 
He  misrepresented  his  course,  by  giving,  in  his  "Address  to  the 
people,"  garbled  extracts  from  his  speeches ;  took  the  stump  against 
him ;  and  undoubtedly  furnished  his  organ  at  Nashville  with  mate- 
rials which  he  had  every  reason  tp  know  were  untrue.  During  the 
session  of  1839,  when  the  Instructing  Resolutions  were  before  the 
legislature,  it  was  currently  reported  and  believed,  that  Governor 
Polk  attended  the  caucus  meetings,  and  was  unceasing  in  his  efibrts 
to  have  them  passed. 

■  The  sequel  of  these  resolutions  is  before  the  world.  They  drove 
Judge  White  from  the  Senate.  When  this  was  accomplished.  Col. 
Polk,  with. his  usual  diplomacy,  after  the  death  of  Judge  White,  which 
soon  followed,  attempted  to  make  capital  of  their  having  so  long 
acted  in  concert : — and  his  organ  avowed  that  Judge  White  ha(^ 
always  been  a  "  strict  constructionist  of  the  Constitution" — thereby 
paying  him  the  highest  compliment  according  to  its  views  that  coulr' 
be  passed  upon  a  politician. 

There  had  never  been  any  special  intimacy  between  Judge  White 
and  Col.  Johnson,  They  were  colleagues  in  Congress,  and  boarded 
at  the  same  house.  An  inspection  of  MS.  letters  and  papers,  reveals  a 
coincidence,  which  is  noticed  here  more  with  a  view  to  show  the 
nature  of  the  charges  that  were  made  against  Judge  White,  as  well 
as  the  character  of  the  men  who  made  them,  than  as  of  any  great 
importance  in  itself  In  Mr.  Johnson's  stump  speeches  in  1835  he 
says,  "  When  General  Jackson  was  surrounded  with  difficulties,  and 


JUDGE   WniTE   AND   COL.    JOHKSON.  203 

when  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  have  by  his  side  some  of  his  old 
and  well-tried  friends — he  called  upon  Judge  White  and  offered  him 
the  appointment  of  Secretary  of  State.  Judge  White  declined  to 
accept  the  offer.  He  then  offered  it  to  Mr.  Van  Biiren.  He  stepped 
forward,  and  accepted.  Since  then  he  has  been  the  main  pillar  of  the 
Administration." 

It  would  seem  that  the  leading  Jackson  men  must  have  known, 
that  Mr.  Van  Buren  received  his  appointment  upon  General  Jackson's 
going  into  power,  and  not,  as  Col.  Johnson  supposes,  when  he  was 
surrounded  with  difficulties.  Instead  of  Mr.  Van  Buren's.  extricating 
General  Jackson  from  these  difficulties,  he  was  their  very  cause.  But 
it  is  a  little  strange  that  this  charge  should  be  in  substance  the  very 
same  that  was  made  against  Mr.  Johnson  himself  in  1833  ;  and  that 
he  should,  as  the  following  correspondence  proves,  have  called  on 
Judge  White  for,  and  actually  procured,  his  certificate  to  prove  that 
to  the  best  of  his  knowledge  he  had  on  a  former  occasion,  sustained 
General  Jackson's  Administration. 

CLARKsrrLLB,  April  20tt,  1838. 
Dear  Sir  :  I  find  upon  my  arrival  in  my  district  such  a  variety  of 
stories  in  circulation  as  to  the  course  pursued  by  me,  .as  a  member  from 
Tennessee,  that  I  feel  myself  somewhat  under  the  necessity  of  calling  on 
my  friends  for  the  expression  of  an  opinion  as  to  the  course  pursued  by 
me  at  Washington,  as  the  most  ready  means  of  putting  an  end  to  the 
various  stories  circulated  here.  It  is  said  here,  that  I  have  been,  and  am, 
unfriendly  to  the  President  and  his  Administration.  Such  general  and 
undefined  charges  are  scarcely  worth  notice ;  but  as  I  have  two  of  the 
strongest  men  in  the  district  to  contend  with,  it  is  a  matter  of  some 
importance  to  me,  to  suppress  if  possible  all  such  accusations.  I  know 
they  have  had  their  origin  from  Major  Eaton,  and  "W.  B.  L.  in  conse- 
quence of  the  course  pursued  by  me  in  relation  to  the  Chickasaw  treaty, 
but  that  is  never  urged  as  an  evidence  against  me.  If  therefore  you  feel 
no  delicacy  in  the  expression  of  an  opinion  upon  my  course,  ydu  would 
greatly  oblige  me  by  stating  whether  I  have  not  uniformly  sustained  the 
Administration,  and  whether  I  have  not  been  always  so  esteemed  among 
members.  I  am  not  aware  of  having  separated  from  my  political  friends 
upon  any  important  question,  except  the  Force  Bill,  which  I  thought 
unnecessary  after  the  passage  of  the  Tariff  Bill.  I  shall  be  a  gpod  deal 
pressed  by  my  opponents  but  do  not  fear  the  result. 

Very  respectfully. 

Your  friend, 

0.  JOHNSOIT. 


264  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

Knoxville,  May  \Wi,  1838. 

Dear  Sie  :  Your  letter  under  date  of  the  20th  ult.  was  received  a  few 
days  ago.  You  state  that  in  your  district  a  story  is  circulated  that  you 
are  unffiendly  to  the  present  Administration  and  wish  upon  that  subject 
a  statement  fi'om  me. 

In  answer  to  this  point  I  can  only  say,  that  so  far  as  has  come  to  my 
knowledge  you  have  always  in  "Washington  and  elsewhere  avowed  your- 
self friendly  to  President  Jackson  and  his  Administration,  and  I  have 
never  doubted  the  sincerity  of  your  declarations.  Entertaining  no  doubt 
that  you  were  a  sincere  supporter  of  the  Administration,  I  state  in  candor 
that  I  was  surprised  when  I  heard  of  your  vote  against  the  biU  to  enforce 
the  collection  of  the  revenue. 

My  recollection  of  the  passage  of  that  bill,  and  the  one  to  modify  the 
tariff,  is  different  from  yours.  You  think  the  bill  to  modify  the  tariff 
was  Jirst  passed,  and  thereby  the  other  rendered  unnecessary. 

My  impression  is  that  the  bill  to  enforce  the  collection  of  the  revenue 
was  first  passed  in  the  Senate  and  sent  to  the  House  of  Representatives. 
Then  Mr.  Clay's  bill  to  modify  the  tariff  was  passed  by  the  Senate  and 
.also  sent  to  the  ^ouse.  The  House  then  took  up  the  Tariff  Bill  reported 
by  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means,  and  amended  it  by  striking  the 
whole  of  it  out  and  inserting  the  bill  which  bad  been  sent  by  the  Senate,  and 
thus  amended  the  House  passed  the  Tariff  Bill  and  sent  it  to  the  Senate, 
not  having  finally  acted  on  the  bill  to  enforce  the  collection  of  the  revenue 
which  had  been  fii'st  sent.  The  Senate  took  up  the  Tariff  BiU  which  had 
been  sent  from  the  House  and  passed  it  twice  and  let  it  lie  for  a  third  read- 
ing until  it  was  informed  the  House  had  finally  passed  the  bill  to  enforce 
the  collection  of  the  revenue.  Upon  receiving  this  information  the  Senate 
took  up  and  finally  passed  the  Tariff  Bill.  So  that  according  to  my  recol- 
lection the  Force  BiU,  as  it  is  called,  finally  passed  the  House  before,  and 
not  after,  as  you  suppose,  the  bill  to  modify  the  tariff. 

But  as  to  myself,  I  repeat  I  never  doubted  the  sincerity  of  your  attach- 
ment to  the  Administration,  nor  do  I  now,  although  I  differ  with  you  in 
opinion  as  to  the  propriety  and  necessity  of  passing  a  biU  to  enforce  the 
coUection  of  duties. 

"With  sincere  esteem, 

Your  obedt.  servt., 

Hu.  L.  "White. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


HIS    RELATIONS   TO    GEN.   JACKSON. 


The  first  recorded  account  of  the  association  of  Gen.  Jackson  and 
Judo-e  White,  is  at  the  bar  of  Tennessee.  They  were  both  of  Scotch- 
Irish  descent.  Both  were  Carolinians  by  birth.  Both  were  Ten- 
nesseans  by  adoption.  Gen.  Jackson  being  six  years  the  senior,  was 
on  the  supreme  bench  of  the  State,  while  Judge  White  was  a  practis- 
ing lawyer.  Here  a  personal  friendship  sprang  up '  between  them, 
which  lasted  many  years.  The  latter,  who  was  never  a  man  of  words, 
but  of  deeds,  exhibited  the  warm  attachment  he  felt  for  his  friend,  on 
many  trying  occasions.  The  first  manifestation  we  have  of  it,  is  in 
the  severe  trials  he  encountered  in  his  trip  to  the  Creek  nation,  and 
the  important  services  he  there  rendered  him. 

~  Next,  when  Gen.  Jackson  was  on  a  trial  before. the  Senate  of  the 
United  States,  and  his  destruction  was  sought  by  his  enemies,  in  the 
highest  tribunal  in  the  nation  ;  when  the  committee  reported  unfavor- 
ably, concerning  the  manner  in  which  the  Seminole  war  was  con- 
ducted. Judge  White  boldly  espoused  his  "cause",  and  avowed  the 
opinion  that  Gen.  Jackson  deserved  praise  rather  than  censure ; 
incurring  by  so  doing  the  displeasure  of  some  of  the  most  prominent 
members  of  the  government. 

In  1824,  when  Gen.  Jackson  was  first  a  candidate  for  the  Presi- 
dency, a  majority  of  the  legislature  of  his'  State  wished  to  send  him 
to  the  Senate.  Judge  White  was  in  Murfreesboro'  (then  the  seat  of 
government),  and  remonstrated  against  such  a  movement  as  impolitic, 
for  the  reason  that  his  election  to  the  Senate  must  necessarily  diminish 
his  chances  for  the  Presidency.  A  majority  however  differed  with 
him,  and  chose  to  run  Gen.  Jackson  for  the  Senate.  Judge  White 
found  no  fault  with  them  for  so  doing,  but  uniformly  urged  the  pro- 
priety of  acquiescence  by  the  voters  of  East  Tennessee  in  the  decision. 
He  steadfastly  believed  in  Gen.  Jackson's  honesty ;  considering  that 
he  possessed  qualities  which  would  make  him  highly  useful  to  the 


265 


266  MEMOIRS    OF   HUGH    liAWSON   WHITE. 

country,  when  associated  ■with  honest,  honorable,  and  well-informed 
men;  and  on  all  occasions  and  at  all  places,  unfalteringly  supported 
the  General's  claims  to  the  Presidency,  both  in  1824  and  in  1828. 
Of  the  estimation  in  which  Gen.  Jackson  held  Judge  White,  before, 
at,  and  even  after  the  time  of  the  elevation  of  the  former  to  the  Pre- 
sidency, abundant  evidence  is  extant  in  the  General's  own  handwriting, 
and  in  that  of  his  well-known  confidential  friends.  In  truth,  as  a 
well-informed  friend  of  both  parties  has  said, "  the  entire  policy  of  the 
Jackson  administration  was  directed  by  Judge  White,  so  far  as  cur- 
rency and  Indian  emigration  West  were  concerned — which  embraced 
two-thirds  of  the  Jackson  policy  now  memorable*" 

Major  J.  H.  Eaton  writes  him  as  follows,  February  23d,  1829,  while 
arranoemeuts  were  being  made  for  the  oro-anization  of  the  cabinet 
and  for  the  determination  of  the  course  of  the  Administration : 

Deae  Sie  :  A  letter  received  some  time  ago  from  Gen.  Jackson,  stated 
he  desired  you^  or  me^  to  be  near  him.  In  a  recent  conversation  with 
him,  he  remarked  that  he  had  had  a  full  and  free  conversation  with  you ; 
and  at  the  close  remarked  that  he  desired  to  .have  hie  with  him.  I  pre- 
sumed, without  inquiring,  that  he  had  probably  talked  with  you  on  the 
subject,  and  that  you  had  declined  accepting  any  situation,  as  you  before 
had  told  me  would  be  your  feelings.  Nothing  definite  has  taken  place 
.  on  tihis  matter  between  General  Jackson  and  myself,  and  I  hope  you 
know  me  well  enough,  and  my  regard  and  friendship  for  you,  to  know 
this,  that  I  should  never  permit  myself  to  stand  in  competition  with  any 
desire  you  may  entertain.  If  you  have  any  desire,  say  so  to  me  in  con- 
fidence, and  it  shall  so  be  received.  If  you  have  none,  then  in  reference 
to  every  and  all  considerations"!  should  consent  to  any,»i;ch  appointment. 
Think  of  this,  and  give  me  your  opinion  frankly. 

Tour  friend 

J.  H.  Eatox. 

Gen.  Jackson's  wish  to  have  him  in  his  cabinet,  upon  his  first 
accession  to  power,  and  the  anxiety  manifested  by  both  him,  and 
his  friends,  in  1831,  that  Judge  White  should  take  charge  of  the 
War  Department  (though,  from  Mr.  Tazewell's  account,  he  seems 
not  to  have  been  in  full  communion  with  the  party  at  that  time), 
prove  the  President's  unlimited  confidence  in  his  integrity  and  his 
capacity  for  business.  These  honors  were -not  tendered  to  Judge 
White  in  compensation  for  any  favors  he  had  shown  the  Adminis- 
tration, or  its  members.  Both  General  Jackson  and  his  friends 
expressly   stated   that  it   was   for   the   benefit   of  the   Administra- 


HIS    RELATIONS    TO    GENERAL   JACKSON.  267 

tion  and  of  the  country  that  they  urged  him  to  accept ;  knowing  full 
well,  that  such  motives  only  would  govern  him.  Judge  White,  how- 
ever, declined  to  accept  in  the  first  instance,  for  reasons  best' known  to 
himself.  The  cause  which  led  to  the  dissolution  of  the  cabinet  in 
1831,  andMhich  he  relates  in  his  "Address  to  the  Freemen  of  Ten- 
nessee," was  a  scheme,  which  he  would  not  have  sanctioned  for  a 
moment,  under  any  circumstances,  and  was  doubtless  one  cause  of  his 
refusing  to  go  into  th^  cabinet  at  that.  time. 

He  earnestly  desired  to  retire  from  the  Senate  in  1829-30  and  31 ;' 
but,  to  please  Gen.  Jackson,  and  his  friends,  who  assured  him  they 
could  not  dispense  with  his  services  in  that  body,  he  remained  ;  and 
while  there  gave  Gen.  Jackson  his  hearty  support  on  all  measures, 
which  were  not  at  variance  with  his  professed  principles. 

The  following  quaint  letter  from  General  Jackson  will  exemplify 
the  terms  in  which  the  continuance  o^  Judge  White's  services  in  the 
Senate,  or  his  acceptance  of  higher  office,  was  sought,  or  acknowledged 
by  the  President : 

Washington,  OcVr\Wi,  1829. 

My  Dear  Sie  : — 

I  have  rec'd  your  letter  from  Nashville,  26th  ult.,  and 
am  pleased  to  learn  from  it  your  determination  to  remain  in  the  Senate 
a  Uttle  longer.  Yoiir  services  there,  for  the  preseni,  is*  all-important  to 
your  country,  and  your  continuance  in  the  Senate  very  gratifying  to  me. 
The  severe  affliction  by  the  loss  of  so  many  of  your  children,  I  was 
aware,  made  public  life, a  burden  to  you;  still,  I  knew  the  high  estima- 
tion in  which  your  public  services  were  held  by  your  country,  and  that 
you  would  find  it  difficult  to  obtain  the  consent  of  yonr  constituents  to 
retire ;  am  truly  happy  that  you  have  consented  to  continue,  for  I  had  a 
hope  that  I  would  have  your  aid  in  the  Senate  so  long  as  I  remained  in 
the  executive.  '  Both  of  us,  I  do  suppose,  would  be  more  contented 
and  happy  in  private  hfe ;  but  the  lordt  hath  willed  it,  and  we  must 
submit. 

How  grateful  I  feel  to  you  for  your  kind  and  friendly  visit  to  ,the  Her- 
mitage, where  lies  all  that  made  life  desirable  to  me,  and  whose  loss  I 
can  never  cease  to  mourn,  and  over  whose  tomb  I  would  Kke  to  spend 
the  remnant  of  my  days  in  solitude,  preparing  to  meet  her  in  a  happier 
and  a  better  world.    ' 

Be  pleased  to  present  me  kindly  to  every  branch  of  your  family,  and 
believe  r&e  your  friend, 

Akdrew  Jaoksok. 

*  So  written  in  the  original.  t  So  written  in  the  original. 


268  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

Judge  Overton,  a  confidential  friend  of  the  President,  writes  in  a 
similar  strain : — 

Nashville,  Oct.  5<A,  1880. 
*  *  *  *  I  pray  God  that  you  piay  be  able  to  get  along  amidst 
your  accumulated  misfortunes,  without  resigning  your  seat  in  the  Senate. 
The  Gen'l*  and  mj'self  are  sensible  of  your  value  to  the  countiy  at  all 
times  and  under  any  circumstances  ;  but  now,  my  friend,  your  presence 
in  the  Senate,  is  all-important  *  *  *  The  times,  especially  as  respects 
the  Senate  are  peculiarly  delicate  and  hazardous.  i 

One  staunch,  undeviating  and  intelligent  friend  there  now,  is  a  jewel 
of  the  first  water,  and  without  its  compeer.  I  have  always,  and  so  does 
the  Gen'l,  viewed  you  as  such.  But  if  there  be  any  .other,  I  do -not 
know  him.  *     *     * 

Your  friend  as  usual, 

J.  OvEETosr. 

The  following  letter,  of  later  date, '  refers  to  the  Secretaryship 
offered  to  Juds'e  White  when  General  J'ackson  was  reoro-anizina:  his 
cabinet,  with  refer^ihce  to  the  support  of  Mr  Van  Buren  as  liis  suc- 
cessor in  the  Presidency. 

Nashville,  Sd  ^ay^  1881. 

Dear  Sie  :  We  have  just  received  in  handbills  the  a'ceount  <5f  a  gene- 
ral dissolution  of  the  cabinfet  at  "Washington,  by  resignation  of  all  the 
principal  secretaries.  I  suppose  you  have  seen  the  same,  •  arid  probably 
more,  as  rumor  says  the  new  cabinet  has'  been. designated,'  and  that  you 
are  one  of  them.  The  friends  of  the  President  here  are  highly  pleased 
with  the  arrangement,  and  more  particularly  that  you  will  be  with  him. 
My  dear  sil*,  I  know,  that  you  are  not  desirous  to  be  placed  in  such  a 
situation.  We  all  know  that  j^ou  have  ever  refused  to  accept  of  appoint- 
ments to  leave  home.  But  at  this  particular,  crisis,  when  all  seems  to  be 
at  stake,  and  nothing  but  a. firm  steady  course^  to  be  well  marked  out,  and 
steadily  pursued,  by  the  Administration,  will  or  \5an, support  us,  and  pre- 
vent division  in  the  republican' ranks,  I  hope  you  will  make  the  sacrifice  of 
feelings,  and  accept  of  appointment  if  called  on  by  the  President ;  and  I 
feel  assured  that  in  his  present  situation,  his  attention  woidd  first  and 
very  naturally  turn  toward  you,  in  whom  lie  can  confide.  You  and  he 
have  grown  up  together,  and  have  passed  from  youth  to  mature  and  some- 
what advanced  age;  j-our  friendship  has  been  uninterrupted:  you 
understand  each  other,  and  I  believe  your  political  views  ai-e  the  same  ; 

*  Jackson ;  with  whom  Judge  Overton  was  very  intimate. 


HIS   RELATIONS   TO   GENERAL  JACKSON.  2G9 

and  from  these  circumstances  and  facts,  there  is  no  one  so  ■well  fitted  to 
be  with  him  as  one  of  his  counsellors  and  advisers,  asj'ou  are  ;  and  there- 
fore it  is  the  earnest  wish  of  your  friends  here  that  you  will  yield  to  the 
call.  *  *  * 

I  beg  you,  my  dear  sir,  to  accept  my  best  wishes  for  your  health  and 
happiness. 

Jno.  Coffee.  • 


In  such  terms  was  the  support  and  co-operatioD  of  Judge  White 
acknowledged,  and  the  continuance  or  special  use  ot  the  same  solicited 
by  Geileral  Jackson  and  liis  confidential  friends  during  his  first 
Presidential  termt. 

There  is  little  doubt  that  the  uncompromising  and  inaccessible  in- 
dependence displayed  by  Judge  White  was  profoundly  displeasing 
and  disappointing  to  the  President  and  his  especial  co-laborers  in 
political  schemes  for  the  future.  That  this  was  the  case,  and  that 
Judge  White  saw  it  and  coolly  and  unfalteringly  recognized  it,  and  as 
GooUy  and  unhesitatingly  disregarded  both  the  anger  and  its  conse- 
quences, when  principles  and  consistency  required  it,  the  following 
extract  from  a  letter  to  a  confidential  friend*  is  sufiicient  evidence. 


Senate  Chajibek,  May  18, 1832. 

*  *  *  The  true  reason  why  nothing  I' have  said  is  noticed  in  the 
Globe,  I  have  no  doubt  is,  because  I  have  never  assured  any  man  that  as 
soon  as  Gen.  Jackson's- terms  of  service  are  at  an  end,  I  will  use  all  my 
endeavors  to  dect  ilie  favorite  of- those  wlio  direct  ike  operations  of  thai 
jpapeY'.  I  am  for  Gen.  Jackson  ;  but  am  not  either  a  Calhoun  Jackson 
man,  or  a  Van  Buren  Jackson  man,  and  therefore  it  is  pleasing  to  the 
Globe  and  Telegraph  not  to  notice  favorably  anything  I  can  say  or  do  • 
and  as  I  am  opposed  to  Mr.  Clay,  his  papers  will  of  course  speak  disre- 
spectfully of  me.  Notwithstanding  all  these  difficulties,  I  will  go  on 
exactly  as  \  have  done,  making  myself  as  useful  as  I  can ;  determined  to 
leave  myself  at  liberty,  when  Gen.  Jackson  is  off  the  stage,  to  exercise 
my  own  judgment  on  the  question  of  a  successor. 

r  cannot  attend  the  Baltimore  Convention,  from  whicK  I  expect 
nothing  of  benefit.  My  duties  in  the  Senate  preclude  the  possibility  of 
my  being  absent. 

Your  friend, 

Her.  L.  White. 

*  F.  S.  Heiskell,  Esq.,  editor  of  the  Knoxville  Register ;  a  true  and  able  friend  of  Judge 
White,  and  to  whom  were  written  many  of  the  lettei^  used  in  tips  Tolume. 


270  MEMOIR   OF   HUGH   LAWSON   WHITE. 

Even  at  an  earlier  date,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  advisers  of 
the  Administration,  if  not  the  President  himself,  had  begun  to  har- 
bor secret  dislikings  against  Judge  White.  The  cause,  in  all  proba- 
bility, was  apprehended  opposition,  or  at  least  failure  of  hearty  .^up- 
port  from  him,  in  their  scheme  of  a  re-election  of  General  Jackson  : 
a  plan  which  flew  directly  in  the  face  of  their  previous  noisy  adx'V)- 
cacy  of  the  one  term  principle,  and  which  was  justified  only  on' the 
ground  of  its  being  necessary  to  keep  "  the  party  "  together;  although 
its  -secret  motives  were  the  doubts  of  Calhoun  and  Van  Buren 
respectively  whether  an  election  as  Jackson's  successor  was  at  so 
early  a  day  in  their  power.  There  seems  no  other  interpretation  for 
the  allusion  in  this  extract  from  a  letter,  of  date  April  28,  1830. 

*  *  *  The  Bill  to  provide  for  a  removal' of  the  Indians  west  of  the 
Mississippi  has  finally  passed  the  Senate  by  a  vote  of  28  to  19.  This  has 
taken  off  my  mind  a  burthen  which  has  been  oppressive  from  the  com- 
mencement of  the  session.     I  hope  it  may  pass  the  otlier  house. 

Cold  as  the  notice  taken  of  our  exertions  in  the  Telegraph*  is,  no 
Georgian  nor  Tennessean  will  ever  be  mortified  by  hearing  the  debate 
spoken  of,  if  truth  be  told.  We  had,  I  think,  in  the  estimation  of  all 
intelligent  men,  at  least  as  much  ascendency  in  the  argument  as  we  had 
in  the  vote.  As  good  fortune  would  have  it.  Judge  Overton,  Collings- 
worth, district  attorney  of  West  Tennessee,  Major  Armstrong,  and  many 
others  from  different  quarters,  were  present,  and  know  that  our  side  was 
sustained  in  a  style  which  gratified  our  friends,  and  mortified  our 
opponents. 

I  have  not,  nor  will  I,  commit  myself  to  support  any  particular  pre- 
tender after  Jackson  is  off  the  stage.  Of  course  I  shall  never  have  my 
exertions  applauded  in  the  Telegraph,  nor  in  any  other  paper  published 
here,  while  things  remain  as  at  present. 

I  have  as  much  of  the  kind  feelings  of  all  as  I  can  expect,  unless  I 
become  the  partisan  of  some  one,  which  I  do  not  intend  to  do  prema- 
turely. 

Your  friend, 

Hu.  L.  White. 

"We  here  insert  a  correspondence  between  Judge  White  and 
Francis  P.  Blair,  editor  of  the  Globe.  This  also  may  be  interpreted 
by  the  supposition  of  positive  or  negative  unfairness  in  that  print; 
which  must  be  supposed  to  originate  from  an  apprehension  similar  to 

*  Conducted  by  Duff  Green,  and  in  the  Interest. of  Calhoun. 


HIS  RELATIONS  TO  GENERAL  JACKSON.  271 

that  alluded  to  in  Judge  White's  letter  of  May  18th.  It  presents 
evidence  of  the  high  valuation  set  upon  his  services,  that  such  elabo- 
rate efforts  were  made  to  keep  on  good  terms  with  him ;  and  his 
terse  replies  indicate  consciousness  that  his  offences  against  the 
friends  of  the  Globe,  being  such  adherences  to  principle  as  would 
necessarily  exhibit  by  contrast  their  dereliction  from  it,  could  not  in 
fact  be  atoned  for  except  by  some  means  which  he  would  not  stoop 
to  use.  The  first  overture  is.  from  Mr.  Blair,  dated  June  2d,  1832,  as 
follows ; 

Dear  Sir:  Doctor  Jones  and  Major  Lewis  have  both  informed  me 
within  a  day  or  two  past,  that  some  person  (whose  name  they  did  not 
give-rae)  is  using  to  my  disadvantage,  a  displeasure  which  it  is  said  you 
have  conceived  at  my  course  in  relation  to  yourself. 

I  am  confident  there  must  be  some  mistake  in  this  matter.  Enter- 
taining as  I  do  the  highest  consideration  for  your  character,  and  having 
as  I  trust,  manifested  the  respect!  bear  you,  as  far  as  opportunities  have 
permitted  me,  I  feel  the  most  perfect  consciousness  that  I  can  have  done 
nothing  to  offend  you;  certainly  not  intentionally.  I  am  equally  cer- 
tain that  your  elevated  sense  of  propriety  would  not  conceive  an  offence 
unless  you  had  some  reason  to  believe  one  was  intended. 

Do  me  the  favor  to  inform  me  frankly  whether  anything  has  occurred 
which  could  authorize  the  assertion  made  by  others  that  I  have  given  you 
cause  of  dissatisfaction.  I  assure  you  that  it  will  give  me  gratiffcation  to 
explain  any  accidental  omission  or  inadvertence  on  my  part,  which  may 
have  excited  a  feeling  to  authorize  the  report  to  which  I  have  alluded. 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

F.  P.  Blair. 

To  this  Judge  White  replies,  on  the  next  day  but  one  : 

Dear  Sir:  Your  favor  under  date  of  the  2d  was  handed. me  yesterday 
afternoon.  In  answer  to  its  contents  permit  me  to  say,  that  as  I  am 
ignorant  of  what  Dr.,  Jones  or  Major  Lewis  may  have  reported  to  you, 
as  proceeding  from  me,  I  am,  of  course,  unable  to  make  any  state- 
ment. .    ■        ■  , 

I  have  been  a  pretty  attentive  observer  of  the  dourse  of  the  Globe,  and 
on  some  occasions  expressed  the  opinion  I  entertain,  not  only  of  it,  but 
of  the  motives  of  those  who  influence  it. 

For  myself,  I  have  no  inducement  to  trouble  the  editor  to  explain  any 
part  of  his  conduct.     It  is  sufficiently  explicit  to  enable  me  to  form 


272  MEMOIR   OF   HUGH   LAWSON   WHITE. 

opinions  upon  every  point,  in  relation  to  liim,  and  ilie  patrons  of  his 
paper,  ^vhere-  it  may  become  my  duty  as  a  public  man,  to  act.  Most 
respectfully,  I  am 

Your  obt.  servt, 

Hu.  L,  White. 

June  8th,  Mr.  Blair  makes  a  still  more  elaborate  effort,  thus : 

Dear  Sir  :  On  the  first  perusal  of  your  note  of  the  4th  instant,  it 
seemed  to  preclude  any  further  correspondence  between  us.  Upon  a 
further  consideration  of  it,  I  am  led  to  believe  it  may  not  have  been  so 
intended. 

It  is  proper  that  I  should  inform  you  that  Major  Lewis  and  Dr.  Jones 
reported  nothing  to  me  as  proceeding  from  you.  They  merely  stated 
generally  that  they  had  understood  that  I  had  in  some  way  occasioned  a 
dissatisfaction  in  your  mind,  and  that  this  feeling  on  your  part  was  used 
to  my  injury.  From  respect  to  you,  and  a  wish  to  prevent  any  mischief 
to  me,  from  what  originated  in  misunderstanding  on  your  part,  as  they 
supposed,  or  misrepresentation  on  that  of  others,  they  were  desirous 
that  I  should  communicate  with  you  on  the  subject.  Their  motives 
were  honorahle  and  charitable. 

Supposing  that  the  cause  of  dissatisfaction  (of  which  I  am  still  entirely 
ignorant),  related  personally  to  yourself,  I  was  desirous  to  ascertain  the 
fault  imputed,  that  I  might  dissipate  it  by  an  explanation.  I  felt  confi- 
dent that  I  should  have  no  difficulty  in  this,  because  my  own  heart  as- 
sured me  that  if  I  had  a  conscience  void  of  ofi'ence  towards  any  human 
being,  it  was  so  in  relation  to  you. 

From  your  note  I  am  left  to  infer  that  the  course  of  the  Globe  has  not 
met  your  approbation.  I  am  sensible  of  the  difficulties  and  of  the 
responsibilities  I  encounter  as  the  editor  of  this  print,  and  of  my  inade- 
quacy to  meet  them ;  and  you  certainly  have  a  right  to  animadvert  ou 
the  man-ner  in  which  I  conduct  it,  because  of  the  deep  interest  you  have 
in  the  Admiuistration,  with  which  it  is  in  some  sort  connected.  But 
does  not  this  circumstance  give  me  some  claim  to  ask  of  you  in  what 
particular,  according  to  your  judgment,  I  have  ofi'onded?  As  the  disin- 
terested, long-tried,  and  most  trusted  friend  of  the  President,  I  should 
take  advice  from  you  as  a  kindness,  and  receive  even  censure  with  re- 
spect. If  I  have  erred  from  want  of  judgment,  information,  or  experi- 
ence ;  if,  asyou  hint,  I  am  operated  on  by  any  sinistor  influence,  may  I- 
not  hope,  seeing,  as  you  do,  the  mischiefs  I  may  draw  down  upon  mj^ 
self,  if  not  upon  the  cause  with  which  I  am  connected,  that  you  will  ap- 
prise mp  of  the  danger  in  which  I  stand  ? 


HIS  RELATIONS  TO  GENERAL  JACKSON.  273 

"  Plain  and  round  dealing  is  the  honor  of  every  man's  nature,"  and 
if  there  be  any  man  living  from  whose  character  I  could  expect  this,  it 
is  from  yours.  I  ask  it  from  you  on  the  present  occasion.  I  should  be 
glad  to  have  a  private  and,  if  you  please,  a  confidential  intervievr,  that 
the  mystery  (with  me)  which  has  led  to  the  present  correspondence  may 
be  solved. 

With  high  respect,  I  am,  sir, 

■Your  most  obedient  servant, 

F.  P.  Blair. 

To  this  Judge  White  answers,  next  day,  still  more  decidedly : 

Dear  Sir  :  Your  note  of  yesterday  has  been  this  moment  handed  to 
me.  You  are  certainly  right  in  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  my  an- 
swer to  your  former  communication  was  not  intended  to  change  our 
relations  towards  each  other  in  any  respect. 

Should  you  believe  an  interview  necessary,  I  assure  you  it  would  at 
all  times  give  me  pleasure  to  converse  with  you;  but  for  the  purpose  of 
any  explanation,  no  such  thing  is  necessary.  I  have  no  desire  to  be  on 
unfriendly  terms  with  any  man  living,  and  cannot  possibly  have  any 
motive  for  a  controversy  with  you. 

If  I  have  had  any  causes  of  complaint,  they  have  been  upon  points  in 
relation  to  which  I  can  never  ask  or  expect  redress.  The  time  for  either 
explanation  or  remedy  has  gone  by.  They  must  remain  as  they  are ; 
but,  rest  assured,  I  know  too  well  what  is  due  to  myself  as  well  as  the 
public,  to  permit  myself  to  take  any  course  by  way  of  redress,  which  is 
calculated  to  injure  the  political  party  to  which  I  belong. 
Most  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

Hu.  L.  White. 


y^Here  Mr.  Blair  gave  it  up. 

Secret  dissatisfaction  at  the  evident  impracticability  of  harnessing 
Judge  White  into  the  traces  in  which  certain  politicians  were  draw- 
ing, or  indeed  into  any  man's  harness,  began  thus  and  henceforth  to 
sap  the  friendship  of  the  President  for  him.  The  first  circumstance, 
however,  which  gave  opportunity  for  open  objection  on  the  part  of 
Gen.  Jackson  and  his  friends,  was  Judge  White's  vote  in  the 
Senate  upon  the  Three  Millions  Appropriation,  so  called;  which 
was  appended  to  the  Fortification  Bill  on  short  notice,  at  the 
close  of  the  night  session,  March,  1835.  Early  in  the  succeeding 
session,  Col.  Benton  in  the  Senate,  and  Mr.  Adams  in   the  House, 

18 


A 


274  MEMOIR   OF   HUGH  LAWSON   WHITE. 

charged  tlie  senators  who  voted  against  this  appropriation,  with  having 
caused  the  loss  of  all  the  appropriations  contained  in  the  Fortification 
Bill.  These  accusations  were  met  by  firm  and  fearless  denials. 
During  the  discussion,  which  was  conducted  with  great  acrimony, 
Judge  White  (the  only  Administration  member  who  voted  against 
this  bill)  made  a  personal  defence  in  his  speech  on  the  Surplus  Re- 
venue, which  could  not  fail  to  carry  the  conviction  to  every  impartial 
mind,  that  instead  of  being  governed  by  unkind  personal  feelings,  he 
was  just  to  the  President,  and  true  to  his  country.  He  showed  that 
the  bill  was  lost  in  the  House  instead  of  the  Senate. 

That  portion  of  this  speech  which  refers  to  Judge  White's  vote  is 
as  follows : 


"  I  £Vn  one  of  those  who  voted  against  that  appropriation,  and  against 
whom  the  charge  is  made.  Against  the  accusation  I  might  well  plead  a 
former  acquittal,  by  the  only  tribunal  competent  to  try  me.  This  accu- 
sation was  made  in  my  own  State,  those  to  whom  only  I  am  accountable 
for  my  conduct  here,  have  passed  upon  it,  and  their  unanimous  verdict 
of  acquittal  I  presented  the  other  day,  and  it  now  remains  on  the  files 
of  the  Senate.  But  I  scorn  to  rely  on  that  plea ;  I  have  a  right  to  a 
separate  trial,  to  plead  not  guilty,  and  give  the  special  matter  in 
evidence. 

"  I  do  not  feel  that  I,  or  any  of  those  with  whom  I  voted,  are  answer- 
able for  the  loss  of  that  bill.  The  vote  I  then  gave  was  the  result  of  my 
best  judgment.  I  then  approved  of  it,  have  done  so  ever  since,  and  pro- 
bably ever  shall,  so  long  as  I  am  capable  of  reflecting  on  ■the  affairs  of 
this  world. 

"  It  will  be  no  part  of  my  plan,  to  attach  censure  to  any  one  for  his  vote ; 
all  may  have  been  governed  by  motives  as  worthy  as  I  feel  my  own  were. 
The  time  will  soon  come  when  we  must  all  appear  before  that  tribunal, 
where  there  can  be  no  mistake  either  in  the  evidence  or  the  judgment 
which  ought  to  be  pronounced.  To  that  tribunal,  then,  where  my  mo- 
tives and  conduct  must  be  submitted,  I  cheerfully  leave  the  decision  of 
the  motives  of  all  others ;  but  it  is  due  to  the  country  and  to  myself,  that 
I  shake  from  my  own  skirts  that  blame  whidh  others  seek  to  attach 
to  me. 

"  A  few  very  plain  views  of  this  matter  will,  t  think,  satisfy  every 
honest  mind  that  the  Senate  are  in  no  fauh  whatever. 

"  The  bill  was  originated  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  passed  that 
body  in  the  month  of  January,  and  was  sent  to  the  Senate.  It  then  con- 
tained the  whole  sum  esteemed  by  the  Executive  and  the  House  neces- 
sary for 'fortifications  and  ordnance.     This  sura  amounted  to  about  four 


HIS   RELATIONS   TO   GENERAL   JACKSON.  275 

hundred  and  thirty-nine  thousand  dollars.  The  Senate  might  have  given 
its  consent  to  the  bill  without  any  alteration.  If  it  had  done  so,  there 
•would  have  been  a  grant  of  the  sum  just  mentioned,  and>  no  more,  to 
these  objectg. 

"The  Senate,  from  the  best  information  it  possessed,  believed  the 
defence  of  the  country  required  much  larger  appropriations,  and,  as  it 
had  a  right  to  do,  increased  some  of  the  items  of  appropriation,  and 
added  others  to  the  amount  of  about  four  hundred  and  thirty  thousand 
dollars,  thus  increasing  the  grant  from  $439,000  to  $8,69,000,  and  on  the 
24th  day  of  February,  returned  the  bill  to  the  House,  for  the  purpose  of 
ascertaining  whether  the  Representatives  would  agree  to  the  increased 
grant  made  by  the  Senate.  If  the  House  had  simply  agreed  to  these 
amendments,  the  bill  would  have  become  a  law,  and  there  would  have 
been  an  appropriation  for  fortifications,  &c.,  equal  to  $869,000.  The 
House  did  not  do  this,  but  retained  the  bill  from  the  24th  of  February, 
till  8  o'clock  in  the  night  of  the  3d  of  March,  and  then  returned  it  to  the 
Senate  with  a  new  section  as  an  amendment  to  the  amendment  of  the 
Senate. 

"  This  new  section  has  been  read  so  often,  that  every  member,  I  pre- 
sume, has  it  by  memory.  It  is  in  these  words  :  '  That  the  sum  of  three 
millions  of  dollars  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby  appropriated  out  of  any 
money  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated,  to  be  expended  in 
whole  or  in  part,  under  the  direction  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  for  the  military  and  naval  service,  including  fortifications  and 
ordnance,  and  increase  of  the  Navy:  Provided  such  expenditures  shall 
be  rendered  necessary  for  the  defence  of  the  country  prior  to  the  next 
meeting  of  Congress.' 

"  For  one,  T  declare,  when  this  new  section  was  read,  I  was  aa  much 
surprised  as  I  could  have  been  if  it  had  been  dropped  through  the  sky- 
light above  our  heads  into  the  bill.  The  chairman  of  the  Committee  of 
Finance  moved  that  the  Senate  disagree  to  the  amendment,  and  after 
some  discussion,  in  which  I  took  no  part,  the  vote  was  taken,  and  stood 
29  to  19,  mine  among  those  in  the  affirmative. 

"  At  that  time  I  knew  not  who  had  proposed  this  amendment  in  the 
House.  The  President  had  no-t  asked,  as  far  as  I  knew,  for  any  such 
appropriation  ;  there  was  no  estimate  sent  from  any  department  on  which 
to  found  it.  My  belief  was  the  President  did  not  wish  it.  I  supposed  it 
had  been  offered  by  some  member  opposed  to  the  administration,  who 
wished  a  free  disbursement  of  money  about  our  seaport  towns,  not  caring 
what  embarrassment  was  occasioned  by  such  a  loose  appropriation,  and 
that  in  the  hurry  and  confusion  of  a  night  session,  it  had  been  permitted 
to  pass  without  any  particular  examination,  and  fancied  that,  so  soon  as 
their  attention  was  particularly  called  to  it,  the  House  would  recede 
from  it,  and  the  bill  be  passed  as  originally  sent  frpm  the  Senate. 


276  MEMOIR  OF  HUGH  LAWSON   WHITE. 

"In  these  conjectures  I  soon  found  I  had  been  mistaken,  for  presently 
the  bill  was  returned  to  the  Senate  with  a  message  stating  that  the 
House  insisted  on  the  amendment.  A  motion  was  made  that  the  Senate 
adhere  to  its  disagreement.  Before  voting  on  that  question  I  took  the 
liberty  of  stating  very  briefly  the  reasons  upon  which  my  first  vote  V/as 
given  and  upon  which  the  second  would  be  founded.  ' 

"  The  President  had  sent  no  message  asking  such  an  appropriation, 
no  estimates  had  been  sent  on  which  to  found  it.  I  believed  it  would 
have  been  the  duty  of  the  Executive  to  have  sent  such  a  message  and 
estimates,  and  I  farther  believed  he  would  faithfully  discharge  his  duty, 
and  therefore  concluded  that  he  did  not  think  the  interest  of  the  country 
required  this  additional  grant.  Beside  this,  the  question  was  then  pend- 
ing and  undecided  before  the  French  Chamber  relative  to  the  appropri- 
ation to  comply  with  their  treaty.  I  believed  the  strong  probability  was 
that  it  would  pass,  either  then,  or  at  the  nest  session,  and  that  with  a 
little' patience  and  good  sense  we  should  receive  the  money  without  any 
warlike  preparation.  This  was  not  only  my  own  opinion,  but  the  de- 
clared opinion  of  all  with  whom  I  had  conversed. 

"  I  was  what  I  professed  to  be,  and  ever  had  been,  a  friend  to  the  ad- 
ministration ;  I  had  received  uo  information  that  the  President  desired 
the  appropriation,  and  I  saw  the  section  was  so  worded  as  to  throw  upon 
him  a  responsibility  which  he  ought  not  to  bear.  The  proviso"  left  it 
discretionary  with  him  w^liether  the  money  should  be  used  or  not.  I 
thought  all  the  interest  of  the  army,  the  navy,  the  large  cities,  and  those 
who  had  ordnance  to  dispose  of,  would  be  brought  to  bear  on  him,  to  in- 
duce him  to  use  the  money:  if  he  did  order  it  to  be  used,  and  there  should 
be  no  war,  as  I  hoped  and  believed  would  be  the  case,  he  would  be  cen- 
sured for  wasting  this  large  sum.  If  he  resisted  all  importunities  and 
did  not  use  the  money,  and  war  did  come,  he  would  be  censured  for  not 
providing  for  the  defences  of  the  country. 

"  Again,  suppose  the  money  to  be  drawn,  what  was  to  be  done  vrith  it? 
How  much  to  the  army,  to  the  navy',  to  fortifications,  and  to  ordnance  ? 
The  section  does  not  say ;  all  is  indefinite,  vague,  loose,  and  left  to  Exe- 
cutive discretion. 

"  These  reasons  were  satisfactory  to  my  own  mind — I  voted  upon  them. 
From  the  time  the  three  millions  was  first  mentioned  in  the  Senate  until 
we  adjourned,  I  did  not  converse,  as  I  believe,  with  a  single  member  of 
the  House  upon  this  or  any  other  subject  —  nor  did  I  converse  with  any 
member  of  the  Senate  except  my  colleague,  who  joined  me  in  the  lobby 
behind  the  colonnade,  after  our  last  vote.  He  was  kind  enough  to  speak 
favorably  of  my  humble  efi"ort,  and  to  express  his  regret  that  I  had  not 
made  my  argument  befoije  the  first  vote ;  but  neither  he  nor  any  other 
member  of  either  House  ever  intimated  that  the  President  wished  such 
an  appropriation. 


HIS  RELATIONS  TO  GENERAL  JACKSON.  277 

"  I  sincerely  believed  he  did  not ;  but  in  that  it  seems  I  was  mistaken, 
and  the  first  notice  I  had  of  my  mistake  was  in  his  answer  to  a  company 
of  gentlemen  in  New  York,  who,  after  the  rise  of  Congress,  made  him  a 
tender  of  their  service  to  defend  the  country.  Whether  I  would  have 
voted  for  the  amendment  in  this  loose  shape,  if  I  had  known  it  comported 
with  the  views  of  the  President,  I  do  not  pretend  to  say.  I  think  I  ought 
not,  but  am  willing  to  state,  because  such  is  the  truth,  that  if,  upon  re- 
viewing my  whole  votes  since  honored  with  a  seat  in  this  Chamber,  any 
votes  could  be  found  which  I  would  wish  had  not  been  given,  the  error 
is  more  attributable  to  my  unbounded  confidence  in  tl>e  Executive,  and 
anxious  desire  to  sustain  him  as  far  as  I  conscientiously  could,  than  to 
any  other  cause  whatever. 

"  But  it  has  been  urged  by  the  honorable  Senator  from  New  Hamp- 
shire, Mr.  Hubbard,  that  on  the  28th  February  the  Chairman  of  the 
Committee  of  Foreign  Relations  of  the  House  had  given  notice  that  when 
this  bill  should  be  taken  up  he  would  move  an  amendment  appropriating 
one  million  of  dollars  for  fortifications,  and  two  millions  for  the  navy, 
and  that  this  accorded  with  the  views  of  the  Executive,  and  the  gentle- 
man adds,  the  members  of  the  House  no  doubt  made  this  the  subject  of 
conversation,  and  that  Senators  wouldprobably  secure  the  information  ; 
and  also  that  in  the  Globe  newspaper  of  2d  March,  this  notice  is  pub- 
lished and  has  passed  into  the  history  of  the  country. 

"  To  all  this  I  answer,  I  did  not  hear  of  this  notice.  If  any  members 
with  whom  I  associated  heard  this  notice,  they  never  mentioned  it  in  my 
presence.  So  far  from  it,  one  of  my  colleagues  of  the  other  House,  pro- 
bably as  attentive  as  any  member  there,  assures  me  he  did  not  hear  any 
such  notice;  and  when  the  amendment  was  under  consideration  he  had  a 
curiosity  to  know  whether  the  President  desired  the  appropriation  or 
not,  that  he  conversed  with  a  colleague  sitting  near  him,  and  neither  of 
them  knowing,  he  asked  another  of  his  colleagues,  then  Chairman  of  the 
Committee  of  Ways  and  Means,  who  told  him  the  President  did  wish  (it, 
and  added  that  he  must  say  nothing  about  it.  ■  He  did  say  nothing  about 
it  till  since  this  discussion  commenced  during  the  present  session.  With 
the  motives  for  this  request  to  conceal  I  am  not  acquainted,  therefore  can 
say  nothing. 

"  The  other  source  of  information,  The  Globe,  I  did  not  apply  to,  I 
never  read  it  till  since  I  heard  the  gentleman's  argument.  If  I  had 
wished  to  read  the  newspaper  for  information  I  had  no  leisure,  my  place 
was  here,  my  duty  here,  and  I  had  quite  as  much  as  I  could  attend  to 
witnout  reading  the  Globe.  If  I  had  wished  information  to  guide  my 
judgment,  and  felt  bound  to  look  into  newspapers  for  facts,  the  Globe 
is  the  last  place  upon  earth  I  should  look  into  for  tJie  truth. 

"Again,  if  I  had  seen  this  notice,  I  am  yet  to  learn  that  the  President 
has  any  member  of  this  House  to  act  as  his  substitute,  and  to  give  that 


278  MEiMOIR   OF   HUGH  LAWSON   WHITE. 

information  to  the  Senate  whicji  we  have  a  right,  by  the  Constitution,  to 
receive  from  the  Chief  Magistrate  himself. 

"  Lastly,  if  I  had  seen  that  notice,  I  would  not  have  supposed  this  sec- 
tion -was  what  was  intended  by  it.  The  notice  was  specific — one  million 
for  Fortifications,  and  two  millions  for  the  JSfavi/.  The  amendment  is  for 
every  thing  relating  to  either  sea  or  land,  in  a  general  }nass,  for  the  Exe- 
cutive to  divide  out,  as  well  as  he  could,  according  to  his  discretion. 

"  If  the  amendment  had  pursued  the  notice,  it  would  have  been  well 
expressed ;  but  in  the  shape  presented  in  the  bill,  I  doubt  whether  the 
combined  talents  of  the  members  of  both  Houses  can  frame  a  section  on 
such  subjects  more  loose,  more  general,  and  more  indefinite  than  it  is, 

"  It  has  been  insisted  by  the  Senator  from  New  Hampshire,  that  this 
section  did  make  a  specific  appropriation  of  this  three  millions  of  dollars, 
and  was  justified  by  precedents  in  the  days  of  General  Washington,  Pre- 
sident Jefferson,  and  of  President  Madison. 

"  By  the  term  specific  appropriation,  I  understand  that  we  mean  the 
direction  of  the  latv  to  apply  a  given  sum  of  money  to  the  accomplishment 
of  a  2)cirticular  object,  in  exclusion  of  all  others. 

"  If  this  idea  be  correct,  this  section  has  no  claims  whatever  to  the 
appellation  of  specific.  The  object  of  it  was  to  place  every  thing  at  the 
discretion  of  the  Executive.  1st,  Whether  the  money  should  be  used  at 
all.  2d,  If  used,  to  apply  it  to  any  object  he  pleased,  connected  with  the 
land  or  naval  service,  or  defence. 

"  The  precedents  referred  to,  do  not  bear  out  the  arguments.  The 
first  is  an  appropriation  of  $116,000  to  pay  the  civil  list.  Here  the  sum 
must  all  be  applied  to  the  discharge  of  the  civil  list,  and  nothing  else. 

"  The  next  is  $70,500  for  fortifications.  Although  it  is  not  said  what 
sum  should  be  applied  to  this  or  that  fortification,  yet  the  whole  must 
be  applied  to  fortifications,  and  to  no  other  object.  The  third  and  last 
precedent  rests  on  the  same  principles. 

"  In  the  case,  now  under  consideration,  every  thing  is  vague,  indefinite, 
and  left  to  Executive  discretion,  and  without  any  communication  from 
the  President,  or  any  estimate  whatever.  I  venture  another  remark, 
founded  on  what  I  heard  said  by  a  gentleman  of  much  experience,  not 
now  among  us,  that  during  the  period  of  a  popular  Administration,  was 
the  very  time  we  must  expect  had  precedents  to  he  set. 

"  These  precedents,  incautiously  set,  when  we  have  unbounded  confi- 
dence in  the  Executive,  are  sure  to  be  relied  on,  in  after  times,  by  those 
who  may  wish  to  use  power  without  regard  to  the  public  welfixre.      . 

"  This  section,  if  adopted,  would  in  after  times  have  furnished  a  pre- 
cedent, by  which  any  grant  of  the  public  money  might  be  made,  to  be 
used  at  Executive  discretion. 

"  I  now  put  it  to  gentlemen  with  whom,  on  former  occasions  I  had 
generally  acted,  to  say,  whether  if  such  a  grant  had  been   proposed 


HIS  RELATIONS   TO  sGENERAL  JACKSON.  279 

during  the  late  Administration,  a  single  man  of  them  would  have  voted 
for  it"?  No.  It  would  have  been  said  this  money  would  be  drawn  and 
used,  not  for  the  public  interest,  but  in  jobs  to  control  and  regulate 

public  opinion. 

"  Upon  this  matter,  for  one,  I  am  perfectly  satisfied  that  I,  and  those 
who  voted  with  me,  were  right  in  not  agreeing  to  this  amendment ;  but 
the  matter  did  not  end  with  the  vote  of  the  Senate,  the  bill  did  not  neces- 
sarily fall  thereby.  Let  us  pursue  the  subject,  and  see  when,  how,  and 
where  the  bill  was  finally  lost. 

"  The  Senate  returned  the  bill  to  the  House,  accompanied  by  a  mes- 
sage, informing  them  that  the  Senate  adhered  to  their  disagreement  to 
the  amendment  as  to  these  three  millions.  Upon  receiving  this  message, 
it  was  competent  to  the  House  to  have  receded  from  their  amendment, 
and  then  the  bill  would  have  passed,  appropriating  the  $869,000  pro- 
posed by  the  Senate ;  but  instead  of  that  they  took  a  vote,  and  deter- 
mined they  would  not  recede.  House  Journal,  page  518.  After  this, 
page  519,  a  motion  was  made  that  the  House  do  ask  a.  conference  on  the 
disagreeing  votes.  This  motion  was  agreed  to,  and  a  committee  of  three 
appointed,  and  a  message  sent  to  the  Senate,  asking  it  to  appoint  a  com- 
mittee to  confer  on  the  subject.  This  message  is  found  in  the  Senate 
Journal,  page  23G.  As  soon  as  it  was  received,  the  Senate  agreed  to  the 
conference,  and  appointed  a  committee  on  their  part,  page  237.  In  the 
course  of  a  short  time,  the  committee  on  the  part  of  the  Senate  returned, 
and  reported  that  the  conferees  had  agreed  to  recommend  to  their  re- 
spective Houses  as  a  substitute  for  the  $3,000,000,  an  appropriation  of 
three  hundred  thousand  dollars  for  arming  the  fortifications,  and  an  addi- 
tional appropriation  of /re  hundred  thousand  dollars  for  the  repair  and 
equipment  of  ships  of  war.     Senate  Journal,  page  237. 

"  If  each  House  had  agreed  to  this  report,  then  there  would  have  been 
the  appropriation  of  $869,000  contained  in  the  bill  as  sent  from  the 
Senate,  and  an  addition  of  $800,000,  making  in  all,  instead  of  $439,000 
which  the  Executive  had  asked, -$1,669,000.  Here  the  question  recurs, 
whose  fault  is  it  that  this  was  not  done  ?  Unquestionably  not  that  of 
the  Senate.  Its  conferees  had  acted  promptly,  and  promptly  made  their 
report.  The  Senate  could  go  no  further ;  it  could  take  no  vote,  as  the  bill 
and  other  papers  had  been  carried  to  the  House  by  the  conferees  on  the 
part  of  the  House.  This  was  entirely  wrong.  When  the  conference 
ended,  it  was  the  duty  of  the  conferees  on  part  of  the  House  to  have 
delivered  the  bill  and  papers  to  the  conferees  on  the  part  of  the  Senate, 
who  would  have  presented  them  when  they  made  their  report ;  the  Senate 
could  then  have  sanctioned  the  report  by  a  vote,  which  I  have  no  doubt 
would  have  been  unanimous,  immediately  sent  the  bill  to  the  House,  which 
could  liave  given  its  sanction,  and  the  bill  become  a  law.    Instead  of 


280  MEMOIR   OF   HUGH  LAWSON   WHITE. 

this,  the  House  conferees  kept  the  bill  and  papers,  and  by  so  doing 
defeated  the  whole  bill.  ^ 

*'  The  rule  upon  this  subject  is  so  perfectly  plain  it  cannot  be  mis- 
taken. It  is  this :  in  all  cases  where  a  conference  is  asked  before  a  vote 
of  disagreement,  the  conferees  of  the  House  asking  the  conference,  when 
it  is  over,  must  take  the  papers  back  with  them,  because  their  House  is 
entitled  to  the  next  vote ;  but  in  every  case  where  a  conference  is  asked 
after  a  vote  of  disagreement,  then  when  the  conference  is  over,  the  con- 
ferees of  the  House  asking  the  conference  must  deliver  over  the  bill 
and  papers  to  the  conferees  of  the  other  House,  because  that  other 
House  is  entitled  to  the  next  vote. 

"  In  this  case  the  Senate  had  voted  to  adhere  to  their  disagreement  to 
the  amendment.  The  House  had  after  this,  voted  that  they  would  not 
recede,  and  then  proposed  the  conference,  therefore,  as  the  House  had 
given  the  last  vote,  the  Senate  was  entitled  to  the  next,  and  to  enable 
them  to  give  it,  it  was  the  duty  of  the  conferees  of  the  House  to  have 
given  the  papers  to  the  conferees  of  the  Senate,  and  if  they  would  not 
receive  them,  they  might  have  been  left  in  the  committee  room. 

"  This  doctrine,  so  reasonable  in  itself,  is  laid  down  in  Jefferson's 
Manual,  at  187,  title  Conference,  in  language  too  plain  to  be  misunder- 
stood, and  it  has  been  practised  on  by  Congress  in  the  cases  with  which 
I  am  acquainted,  see  the  case  of  the  bill  for  the  relief  of  Mr.  Monroe,  in 
Senate  Journal,  page  374,  of  the  session  1825  and  1826,  and  House 
Journal  of  the  same  session,  pages  616  and  628, 

"  Let  it  not  be  supposed  that  the  conferees  of  the  two  Houses  were 
equally  to  blame  for  permitting  the  papers  to  remain  with  the  conferees 
not  entitled  to  them  after  the  conference  ended  ;  because  the  conferees 
of  the  Senate  did  not  know,  and  had  no  means  of  knowing  that  the  House 
had  voted  not  to  recede  after  the  Senate  had  voted  to  adhere.  Strange  as 
the  fact  may  seem,  the  truth  is,  that  the  House,  in  its  message  to  the 
Senate  proposing  the  conference,  omitted  to  state  the  fact  that  a  vote,  not 
to  recede,  had  been  taken  after  the  House  last  received  the  bill.  See  the 
message.  Senate  Journal,  page  236. 

"  The  conferees  on  the  part  of  the  House  knew  the  fact,  because  their 
Journal  shows  they  were  present,  and  voted,  see  the  House  Journal, 
page  518,  519. 

"  The  conferees  of  the  House  having  improperly  taken  the  bill  and 
papers,  and  theteby  put  it  out  of  the  power  of  the  Senate  to  take  any 
step  whatever,  are  answerable  for  all  the  consequences. 

"  I  do  not  state  this  omission  in  the  message  by  way  of  censure  on 
the  Clerk  for  any  intentional  wrong.  All  these  matters  relative  to  this 
bill  took  place  in  the  night,  in  the  confusion  which  occurred  at  the  end 
of  the  session,  and  it  is  very  seldom  that  the  most  temperate  and  pru- 
dent are  as  well  qualified  to  do  business  or  have  their  wits  as  well  about 


HIS   RELATIONS   TO   GENERAL   JACKSON.  281 

them  after  a  comfortable  dinner  as  they  have  in  the  early  part  of  the 
day. 

"  Mr.  President,  let  us  now  see  what  the  conferees  of  the  House  did 
with  these  papers  after  taking  them  from  the  conference  room.  They 
returned  to  the  House  and  the  chairman  made  no  report  whatever,  the 
Senate  waited  from  one  to  two  hours,  and  being  able  to  hear  nothing, 
sent  a  respectful  message  calling  the  attention  of  the  House  to  this  sub- 
ject, see  House  Journal,  page  530.  Then  the  chairman  stated  that  the 
committee  had  returned  at  the  time  a  vote  was  taken  on  a  resolution 
providing  for  the  payment  of  Mr.  Letcher,  by  which  it  was  ascertained 
there  was  not  a  quorum,  and  that  the  constitutional  term  had  expired, 
and  that  for  these  reasons  he  had  declined  making  a  report.  Mr.  Lewis, 
another  member  of  the  committee,  then  took  the  papers  and  made  the 
report,  which  was  never  acted  on,  and  thus  the  matter  ended. 

"  The  first  reason  assigned  for  not  having  made  the  report  was  the 
want  of  a  quorum,  this  it  is  said  was  ascertained  by  the  vote  on  the  reso- 
lution just  mentioned. 

"  The  chairman  ought  to  have  put  the  House  in  possession  of  the 
report  as  he  found  the  House  in  session.  Had  he  done  so,  no  doubt  it 
w^uld  have  been  acted  on.  The  Journal  shows  that  much  business 
was  done  afterwards,  and  a  resolution  reported  by  Mr.  Wm.  Cost 
Johnson  was  adopted  by  the  House,  see  House  Journal,  from  page  524 
to  530. 

"  Now,  if  there  was  a  quorum  to  do  other  business,  to  adopt  other 
resolutions,  how  is  it  that  there  was  not  a  quorum  to  receive  and  act  on 
this  report  ? 

"The  remaining  reason  assigned  is,  that  the  constitutional  tei'm  for 
which  the  members  were  elected  had  expired.  In  other  words,  it  was 
after  12  o'clock  on  the  night  of  the  thii'd  of  March. 

"How  can  this  be?  There  must  have  been  some  mistake  on  this 
point.  If  it  was  not  too  late  to  do  the  other  business  I  have  mentioned, 
how  did  it  happen  to  be  too  late  to  make  this  report. 

"Again,  the  most  certain  information  we  have  as  to  time  is  derived 
from  the  statement  of  the  honorable  Senator  from  Virginia.  He  tells  us 
he  looked  at  his  watch  when  the  conferees  left  the  Senate  chamber,  and 
it  then  wanted  fifteen  minutes  of  eleven.  When  they  returned  and  made 
their  report,  he  was  not  in,  but  returned  shortly  afterwards,  and  it  was 
then  twenty  minutes  after  eleven.  We  may,  therefore,  suppose  the  con- 
ferees had  returned  about  one  quarter  of  an  hour  after  eleven,  leaving 
{hree-quarters  of  an  hour  to  have  disposed  of  this  hill  hefore  the  hour  of 
twelve  o'clock  arrived. 

"  There  was,  therefore,  ample  time,  if  the  report  had  been  made,  to 
have  disposed  of  this  before  our  constitutional  term  expired  according  to 
the  strictest  construction. 


282  MEMOIR   OF   HUGH   LAWSON    ^YHITE. 

"  Mr.  President,  this  is  the  eleventh  session  I  have  been  here,  and 
until  last  session  never  knew  of  an  important  measure  having  failed 
because  12  o'clock  had  arrived. 

"  Sq  far  as  I  know,  the  universal  course  has  been,  if  the  business  ne- 
cessary to  be  done  could  not  be  finished  before  twelve  o'clock,  to  go  on 
and  accomplish  it  if  it  took  till  daylight. 

"  I  well  remember  on  one  occasion,  at  a  short  session,  we  sat  all  night, 
and  before  I  got  to  my  lodging  place,  it  was  broad  daylight. 

"  There  always  have  been  some  members  who  had  conscientious  scru- 
ples about  sitting  after  12  o'clock.     I  always  have,  and  always  shall 
respect  men  who  act  on  such  scruples,  although  I  may  differ  with  them 
in  opinion. 

"  For  myself,  I  have  never  felt  any  hesitation  about  voting  after  12 
o'clock,  when  the  business  required  it. 

"By  the  Constitution,  members  of  the  House  are  elected  for  two  years. 
The  President  and  Vice  President  for  four,  and  the  Senators  for  six. 
The  only  difficulty  is  to  ascertain  when  the  term  commences.  The  Con- 
stitution does  not  fix  it,  but  authorized  the  old  Congi-ess  to  do  so.  That 
Congress  fixed  the  first  Wednesday  in  March,  1789.  That  happened  to 
be  the  4th  day  of  the  month.  Now,  if  we  believe  the  first  Congress  met 
in  the  night  at  12  o'clock,  the  3d  of  March,  1789,  then  our  constitutional 
term  will  expire  in  the  night  at  12  o'clock  of  the  3d  of  March,  every 
second  year,  and  the  terras  of  the  President  and  Vice  President  at  the 
same  hour  every  fourth  year.  But  if  we  suppose  Congress  did  not 
assemble  earlier  than  12  o'clock  on  the  4th  of  March,  1789,  then,  in 
truth,  our  constitutional  two  years,  &c.,  do  not  expire  till  the  same  hour 
of  the  4th  of  March,  and  we  have  our  constitutional  day,  as  it  was,  when 
light  and  darkness  were  first  separated,  and  it  was  said  the  evening  and 
the  morning  should  be  the  first  day. 

"  I  submit  to  gentlemen  who  have  these  scruples,  whether  it  is  not 
worth  while  to  reflect  maturely  on  this  subject.  If  the  term  of  Congress 
expires  the  night  of  the  3d  of  March,  so  must  that  of  the  President  and 
Vice  President.  This  will  always  leave  an  interval  of  several  hours, 
when  we  will  have  no  President  or  Vice  President.  It  appears  to  me 
those  who  framed  the  Constitution  did  not  so  intend.  It  is  easy  to  think 
of  cases  which  would  be  very  hard  upon  such  a  construction.  Suppose 
shortly  before  the  expiration  of  a  Presidential  term,  a  man  to  be  sen- 
tenced to  be  hanged  in  a  federal  court.  Afterwards  it  should  be  ascer- 
tained to  a  certainty  that  the  person  was  innocent,  and  a  messenger  is 
sent  for  a  pardon,  but  cannot  reach  the  President  till  after  12  o'clock  on 
the  night  of  the  3d  of  March,  is  the  man  to  be  hanged  because  there  is 
no  President  until  his  successor  is  sworn  in  ?  This  ought  not  to  be  the 
construction. 

"  I  apprehend  the  whole  difficulty  originates  from  our  perplexing  our 


HIS  RELATIONS  TO  GENERAL  JACKSON.  283 

minds  with  a  legal  fiction  that  there  can  be  no  fraction  of  a  day.     This, 
like  every  other  fiction,  must  yield  to  fact  when  justice  requires  it. 

"  A  man  sells  a  tract  of  land  for  a  full  consideration  in  the  morning 
of  the  4th  of  March,  and  conveys  it.  In  the  afternoon  he  sells  and  con- 
veys the  same  land  to  another  person ;  both  vendees  cannot  hold,  and 
yet,  according  to  the  idea  produced  by  this  fiction,  both  deeds  were  exe- 
cuted the  first  minute  of  the  day,  and  are  of  equal  date;  but  every  man 
knows  that  this  fiction  would  yield  to  fact,  and  that  the  first  vendee 
would  hold  the  land. 

"  Whether  these  reflections  be  altogether  accurate  or  not,  they  have 
always  satisfied  me  that  I  did  not  act  unconscientiously,  or  assume  powers 
I  did  not  possess,  when  I  voted  in  the  night  of  the  3d  of  March  after 
12  o'clock. 

"  The  honorable  member  from  New  Hampshire  will  perceive  that  the 
resolution  he  has  read,  which  was  adopted  in  the  year  1790,  does  not 
remove  the  diflBculty.  That  resolution  only  says  the  term  expires  on  the 
3d  of  March ;  btit  still  the  question  recurs,  when  does  the  3d  of  March 
end  according  to  the  meaning  of  the  Constifcution. 

"  To  Senators  on  all  sides,  I  submit,  whether  this  crimination  and 
recrimination  for  past  acts,  or  omissions,  is  likely  to  produce  disposi- 
tions now  to  act  together  harmoniously,  and  to  endeavor  to  devise  and 
perfect  such  measures  as  will  most  promote  the  interest  and  welfare  of 
the  country. 

"Mr.  President:  In  every  view  I  have  been  enabled  to  take  of  this 
whole  subject,  it  has  appeared  to  me  that  this  bill  was  lost  in  the  House, 
not  in  the  Senate;  that  the  Senate  were  right  in  the  votes  which  a 
majority  gave  as  to  this  sum  of  three  millions.  I  was  satisfied  with  my 
votes  when  I  gave  them,  and  am  yet  satisfied,  more,  I  am  proud  of  them. 
I  feel  that  the  Author  of  my  existence  will  approve  of  them,  and  to  use 
the  language  of  a  distinguished  man,  now  no  more,  '  I  wish  they  were 
recorded  in  the  centre  of  Heaven,  in  characters  as  bright  as  the  sun, 
that  the  whole  world  might  read  them.' " 


The  statements  in  this  speech  were  corroborated  by  Mr.  Webster 
and  others.  Mr.  Peyton  says:  "It  was  party  spirit  in  the  House 
which  defeated  the  measure,  many  of  the  Van  Buren  members 
refusing  to  answer  to  their  names  when  called,  although  pre- 
sent; thus  depriving  the  House  of  a  quorum,  and  defeating  the 
bill." 

Mr.  Wise  said,  in  his  speech  on  the  causes  of  the  loss  of  the  For- 
tification Bill,  "  Neither  the  House  nor  the  Senate  were  chargeable 
with  the  act."     But  he  affirmed  that  "  it  was  certain  Van  Burea 


284  MEMOIR   or   HUGH   LAWSON   WHITE. 

members,  C.  C.  Cambreleng,  and  those  with  whom  he  acted,  who 
defeated  the  measure,  for  the  purpose  of  affecting  Judge  White's 
interest."  He  charged  it  against  Speaker  Polk,  (and  proved  the 
charge  by  a  written  statement  given  to  him  by  the  Hon.  Luke  Lea, 
and  corroborated  by  the  Hon.  Samuel  Bunch,  and  admitted  by 
Mr.  Polk  himself,  who  was,  at  the  time,  chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Ways  and  Means,)  that  "  he  knew  the  fact  that  the  Presi- 
dent wished  the  appropriation,  but  did  not  communicate  it  to  his 
committee  or  the  House ;  but  only  to  a  few  individual  members  in 
their  seats,  requesting  them  to  say  nothing  about  it."  No  esti- 
mate had  been  sent  to  the  House  by  the  President.  Judge  White 
did  not  know  that  he  wished  the  appropriation,  and  therefore  voted 
against  it. 

80  great  was  his  devotion  to  the  Administration,  and  so  effectively 
did  he  sustain  it,  as  to  call  forth  such  testimony  as  that  borne  by  the 
Hon.  Mr.  Clayton,  of  Delajware,  who,  in  his  speech  on  Mr.  Benton's 
fortification,  resolutions,  used  the  following  desci'iptive  language  to 
prove  the  motive  of  the  ill-timed  and  unprovoked  assault  upon  the 
Setiate.  The  thoughts  expressed  in  the  extract  occurred  to  him 
while  Judge  White  addressed  that  body  in  vindication  of  his  vote 
against  the  Three  Millions  Appropriation,  and  he  was  led  by  them  to 
form  his  conclusions  as  to  the  real  object  entertained  by  the  Adminis- 
tration upon  that  vote.  Judge  White  plead  his  acquittal  by  the 
legislature  of  Tennessee,  which  had  unanimously  re-elected  him, 
after  he  gave  that  vote.     Mr.  Clayton  said  : 

It  may  be  considered  necessary  to  make  the  most  of  this,  the  only 
offence  he  has  committed  against  the  Administration.  The  difference  in 
the  votes  of  the  honorable  senators  from  Tennessee  (Mr.  White  and  Mr. 
Grundy),  on  the  amendment  to  the  Fortification  Bill,  has  called  up  some 
reminiscences  of  bygone  events,  exhibitinj];  some  other  differences  be- 
tween them.  When  I  first  came  into  Congress,  they  were  both  consid- 
ered so  true  to  the  Administration,  and  so  effective  in  its  aid,  that,  out 
of  sheer  compliment  among  their  friends  here,  they  were  called  "Jack- 
son's Tennessee  Rifles."  They  both  proved  true  for  a  time,  and  told, 
with  unerring  cei'tainty,  in  every  conflict  with  those  who  opposed  the 
executive.  But  although  both  were  good  rifles,  there  was  an  allowed 
difference  between  them.  One  missed  the  mark  altogether,  during  that 
famous  contest  which  was  carried  on  here  about  the  time  of  Mr.  Foote's 
resolutions.     It  was  believed  to  have  been  near  bursting,  in  consequence 


HIS  "RELATIONS   TO   GENERAL  JACKSON.  285 

of  being  overcharged  with  nullification  powder.  There  was  also  another 
failure.  This  same  rifle  was  assigned  to  the  defence  of  the  post-ofiBce, 
and  was  charged  to  the  muzzle  for  keeping  and  maintaining  that  posi- 
tion ;  but  the  post  was  carried  by  its  assailants,  and  the  defence  was  cen- 
sured by  those  who  directed  it,  because  the  enemy  entered  in  despite  of 
the  garrison,  and  exposed  most  piratical  depredations  which  had  been 
committed  on  the  people.  For  my  own  part,  I  have  always  inclined  to 
attribute  this  failure  to  the  indefensible  condition  of  the  post.  But,  said 
Mr.  Clayton,  pointing  to  the  seat  of  Mr.  White,  the  old  Tennessee  rifle 
which  has  stood  against  that  desk  ever  since  I  knew  it,  was  a  rare  piece, 
and  always  has  attracted  my  especial  admiration.  Although  fighting  on 
the  other  side,  I  never  like  to  see  it  come  into  action.  For  six  years, 
although  it  was  almost  every  day  engaged,  it  never  snapped,  missed,  or 
hung  fire ;  nor  was  it  ever  said  to  have  failed  to  hit  the  mark,  until 
about  midnight  of  the  3d  of  March  last.  The  people  of  Tennessee,  who 
are  said  to  be  excellent  judges  of  a  good  shot  or  a  gallant  blow,  have 
since  decided  that  this  was  a  most  "  palpable  hit,"  and  that,  however 
others,  who  are  ignorant  of  the  qualities  of  a  first-rate  weapon,  may  have 
foolishly  desired  to  break  the  old  rifle  of  the  West,  tliey  still  hold  it  en- 
titled to  the  first  rank  when  engaged  for  their  defence;  and  will  never 
consent  that  it  shall  either  be  injured  by  abuse,  or  left  out  of  service. 
Even  those  who  have  condemned  it,  because,  as  they  think,  it  has  once 
missed  the  mark,  may  relent,  when  they  reflect  that  it  has  been  clearly 
shown  in  this  debate  that,  on  the  occasion  alluded  to,  the  President  him- 
self did  neither  charge  nor  pull  the  trigger. 


When  Mr.  Clay's  resolution,  censuring  General  Jackson's  removal 
of  the  deposits,  "  upon  the  ground  that  he  had  assumed  to  himself 
authority  and  powers  not  conferred  by  the  Constitution  and  laws, 
but  in  derogation  of  both,"  was  before  the  Senate,  Judge  White  not 
only  voted  against  it,  but  argued  that  the  President  had  the  Consti- 
tutional right  to  remove  the  public  moneys  whenever  he  had  reason  to 
helieve  them  unsafe.  But  the  resolutions  were  adopted  and  entered 
upon  the  journals.  The  President  protested  against  the  stigma  that 
had  been  attached  to  his  name  by  the  proceeding.  Mr.  Benton,  in 
his  devotion  to  General  Jackson,  afterwards  brought  forward  his 
Expunging  Resolutions,  the  object  of  which  was  to  remove  this 
reproach.  Judge  White  voted  against  them.  He  had  done  all  he 
could  to  prevent  this  unpleasant  procedure :  but  the  work  bad  been 
done,  and  he  maintained  that  it  was  unconstitutional  and  a  dangerous 
expedient  to  obliterate  the  journals.     In  lieu,  however,  of  these  reso- 


286  MEMOIR   OF   HUGH   LAWSON   WHITE, 

lutions,  he  oflfered  one,  ordering  Mr.  Clay's  to  be  "  rescinded,  reversed, 
repealed,  and  declared  null  and  void,"  He  wished  to  do  justice  to 
the  Chief  Magistrate,  but  at  the  same  time,  to  do  justice  to  the  pub- 
lic and  to  the  Senate.  And  in  this  opinion  he  was  joined  by  most  of 
the  Administration  members,  only  six  or  seven  of  whom  voted  to 
retain  the  word  "expunge." 

That  General  Jackson  had  received  favors  from  Judge  White, 
without  any  obligation  on  the  part  of  Judge  White  to  confer  them, 
except  that  induced  by  friendship,  both  he  and  his  friends  admit. 
How  were  they  returned  ? 

The  time  came  when  General  Jackson  could  have  shown  his  grati- 
tude by  simply  remaining  silent;  instead  of  which,  because  Judge 
White  did  not  choose  to  acquiesce  in  all  his  views  with  regard  to  the 
succession,  he  entered  personally  and  warmly  into  the  presidential 
contest  of  1836,  denouncing  all  the  friends  of  the  latter  who  differed 
with  him  in  opinion  as  "Federalists,"  "  Nullifiers,"  and  "New-born 
Whigs."  Not  only  was  this  done,  but  he  permitted  and  oven  encour- 
aged office-holders  to  use  their  time  and  talents  in  the  same  cause. 
An  instance  is  noticed  in  the  remarks  of  Judge  White,  on  a  resolution 
submitted  by  him  to  the  Senate,  on  the  subject  of  Benjamin  F.  Curry's 
employment — and  in  his  correspondence  with  the  Secretary  of  War, 
in  reference  to  a  letter  written  by  Mr.  Curry,  and  published  in  the 
"Nashville  Union."  It  is  due  to  Judge  White,  to  publish  here  his 
remarks  and  the  correspondence,  January  12,  1836,  Judg§  White 
addressed  the  Senate  as  follows : 

Mr,  President :  I  rise  to  offer  the  resolution  which  I  hold  in  my  hand ; 
but  to  enable  the  Senate  to  understand  why  it  is  offered,  and  the  object 
I  wish  to  accomplish,  it  is  a  duty  incumbent  on  me,  to  accompany  it 
with  some  explanation ;  I  will  therefore  read  and  then  pass  it  to  your 
table : 

Sesolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  War  be,  and  he  hereby  is,  requested  to  inform  the  Senate 
•what  office  Benjamin  F.  Curry  holds  in  the  Cherokee  nation,  under  what  law  he  was  appointed 
and  at  what  time ;  what  salary  he  receives,  and  whether  he  has  at  any  time  received  any 
allowance,  in  addition  to  his  salary,  and  how  much;  stating  particularly  the  whole  amount  he 
has  received  each  year. 

This  Mr.  Curry  went  into  the  nation  some  time  after  the  election  of 
the  present  Chief  Magistrate,  and  I  believe  until  about  twelve  months 
ago,  he  had  been  employed  as  an  inferior  agent  to  superintend  the  enroll- 


HIS   KELATIOKS   TO    GENERAL   JACKSON.  287 

meiit  of  Cbcrokees  for  emigration,  to  have  tlieir  improvements  valued, 
«&c. 

During  the  last  winter  he  was  here,  and  when  I  returned  home  last  spring, 
I  undei-stood  he  was  making  some  figure  as  a  politician ;  that  out  of  his 
own  head,  or  by  the  instigation  of  some  person  more  wicked  than  him- 
self, he  had,  while  here,  written  some  letters  for  publication  to  a  small 
newspaper  in  my  own  State,  which  had.  engaged  in  the  business  of  tra- 
ducing me.  In  the  course  of  the  summer,  we  had,  in  some  of  our  Con- 
gressional districts,  animated  contests  between  candidates  for  Congress. 
This  gentleman,  I  understood,  took  an  active  part.  He  sometimes 
travelled  out  of  the  nation,  and  even  out  of  his  Congressional  district,  was 
zealous  in  propagating  his  opinions,  and  as  I  am  informed  and  believe, 
either  wrote  himself,  or  furnished  the  materials  for  one  or  more  pieces 
for  the  same  vehicle  of  slander,  to  which  he  had  written  while  in  Wash- 
ington. 

In  the  district  including  tlie  Cherokee  agency  he  was  zealous  in  oppos- 
ing the  election  of  the  former  member,  and  Avith  the  view  to  enable  him 
to  act  efficiently,  was  in  the  habit  of  reading  and  showing  confidentially, 
a  letter  said  to  be  written  by  the  President  himself,  finding  fault  with  the 
former  member  by  name,  and  using  general  expressions  which  Mr.  Curry 
said  were  intended  for  me.  I  have  likewise  been  informed,  that  still 
farther  to  succeed  in  his  plans  of  defamation,  he  confidentially  used  a 
letter,  said  to  be  written  to  him  by  my  honorable  colleague,  in  which  my 
name  .was  used,  not  much  to  my  advantage;  and  I  now  take  this  occa- 
sion, in  the  Senate,  in  presence  of  our  brother  senators,'  in  the  presence 
of  this  audience,  in  the  face  of  the  world,  to  ask  my  colleague  to  say, 
whether  at  any  time,  he  wrote  any  letter  to  Mr.  Curry,  in  which  my 
name  was  used, 

[Mr.  Grundy  answered — "  That  he  was  taken  by  surprise  with  the 
question ;  but  he  did  not  remember  he  had  ever  written  a  letter  on  any 
subject  to  Mr.  Curry,  and  he  felt  certain  if  he  had,  he  had  never  used  his 
colleague's  name  in  other  terms  than  those  of  respect."] 

Mr.  White  proceeded — I  am  then  satisfied  with  the  answer  given  for 
the  present,  and  tliis  artifice  must  have  been  used  by  Mr.  Curry,  the  more 
effectually  to  mislead  and  deceive  those  to  whom  he  made  such  statements. 

All  this  conduct  I  disregarded,  and  did  not  think  it  worthy  to  be  made 
matter  of  conversation.  Our  elections  terminated,  the  former  member 
was  reelected ;  and  when  the  legislature  met,  I  was  again  honored  with 
a  seat  here  by  a  unanimous  vote. 

Some  time  ago,  a  friend  brought  me  a  Georgia  newspaper,  and  pointed 
out  to  me  a  letter  under  the  signature  of  Mr.  Curry,  dated  1st  December, 
1835,  and  addressed  to  the  editor  of  a  newspaper  called  the  Federal  Union. 
In  that  paper  it  had  been  published,  and  from  it  copied  into  various  other 
papers,  and  finally  into  one  in  my  own  State  called  the  Nashville  Union, 


288  MEMOm    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

gotten  up  by  funds  furnished  here,  expressly  for  the  purpose  of  distribut- 
ing, in  my  own  State  and  elsewhere,  all  the  dirty  filth  and  slanders 
which  could  be  collected,  with  a  view  to '  detract  from  my  humble 
standing. 

The  time  at  which  this  letter  was  published,  as  well  as  the  place  where 
and  the  matter  of  it,  struck  me  with  some  force.  The  legislatures  of 
Georgia,  of  Alabama,  of  Tennessee,  of  North  Carolina,  Virginia,  and 
several  other  States  were  then  in  session,  if  I  mistake  not,  and  if  I  do  I 
hope  gentlemen  will  correct  me,  and  that  of  Mississippi  was  soon  to  meet. 
Four  of  these  -States  had  a  deep  stake  in  the  Indian  question,  because  the 
Indians  were  residing,  and  yet  reside,  in  portions  of  them. 

I  saw  that  the  most  gross  and  base  falsehoods  were  contained  in  it  as 
to  myself.  This  I  did  not  so  much  regard,  but  I  saw  further,  that  with  a 
view  to  reach  me,  a  statement  was  made  respecting  Mr.  M'Connell,  one 
of  my  constituents,  a  humble  and  inoffensive  citizen,  which  would,  in  all 
probability,  cost  him  his  life.  I  felt  hurt  by  this,  as  I  had  bfeen  the  medium 
through  which  the  Secretary  of  War  had  induced  him  to  undertake  this 
delicate,  confidential  and  hazardous  agency. 

The  falsehoods  were  so  glaring,  and  the  mischievous  tendency  of  the 
letter  so  obvious,  that  I  at  fii'st  hoped,  as  soon  as  it  met  the  eye  of  the 
Administration,  the  matter  would  be  set  right  without  any  application 
from  any  quarter.  After  waiting  some  time  without  any  step  having 
been  taken,  and  having  good  reason  to  believe  the  letter  had  been  seen 
by  at  least  one  member  of  the  Administration,  I  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
Secretary  of  War  under  date  of  the  2d  Inst,  a  copy  of  which  I  will  now 
read. 

Washington,  Jam,.  2, 1836. 

DeaeSie:  I  must  take  the  liberty  of  inviting  your  attention  to  a 
letter  under  the  signature  of  Benjamin  F.  Curry,  published  in  a  news- 
paper called  the  Federal  Union,  and  bearing  date,  "  Cherokee  Agency, 
Dec.  1,  1835." 

In  it  you  will  see  in  speaking  of  Samuel  McConnell,  Mr;  Curry  uses 
this  language — "He  has  for  some  years  past,  under  the  procurement  of 
Judge  White  of  Tennessee,  been  receiving  pay  from  the  United  States 
Government,  as  a  secret  and  confidential  agent,  while  all  his  visible  efforts 
have  been  to  defeat  the  measures  of  the  ostensible  agents  in  bringing  about 
a  treaty." 

I  feel  assured  your  own  sense  of  justice  will  at  once  pronounce  that 
this  statement,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned,  is  entirely  unfounded. 

The  name  of  Mr.  McConnell  was  not  brought  to  your  notice  by  me ;  I 
never  asked  or  procured  the  department  to  appoint  him.  Any  agency  I 
had  in  the  matter  was  at  the  instance  of  the  department,  and  to  carry 
into  effect  its  wishes,  as  is  fully  disclosed  in  the  letter  from  the  acting 


ms   RELATIONS   TO   GENERAL   JACKSON.  289 

Secretary  of  War  to  me,  and  my  answer,  with  its  enclosure  to  him,  to 
which  I  beg  leave  to  refer  you. 

^  In  that,  as  in  everything  else,  I  was  willing  to  do  all  in  my  power  to 
aid  in  carrying  into  effect  the  wishes  of  the  department  in  relation  to  the 
Indians,  and  must  think  I  am  treated  with  great  injustice,  if  your  agents, 
attached  to  your  department,  are  thus  to  misrepresent  and  calunmiate 
me.  From  all  the  information  I  possess,  I  must  think  that  in  the  charges 
against  McConnell  there  is  a  great  disregard  of  truth.  I  had  once  believed, 
and  yet  do,  that  he  acted  with  great  fidelity,  and  that  from  his  services 
much  benefit  resulted. 

But,  sir,  if  Mr.  McConnell  was  a  secret  agent,  appointed  by  your 
department,  does  he  merit  that  his  life  should  be  endangered  by  this 
statement  of  your  agent  ?  If  he  was  not  a  secret  agent,  is  it  right  that  he 
should'be  endangered  by  the  statement  of  such  a  falsehood? 

In  another  part  of  Mr.  Curry's  letter  he  states  that  shortly 'before  the 
council,  Lewis  Eoss  came  to  Knoxville,  and  after  his  return,  rumors  were 
put  afloat  connected  with  my  name. 

The  inference  which  Mr.  Curry  wishes  should  be  drawn  from  this  state- 
ment no  doubt  was,  that  Lewis  Eoss  came  to  Knoxville  to  consult  me. 
I  assure  you,  if  Mr.  Eoss  was  at  Knoxville,  from  the  time  I  left  Washing- 
ton in  March  till  my  return  this  faU,  I  never  heard  of  it  until  I  read  Mr. 
Curry's  letter,  and  have  had  no  communication  whatever  with  him. 

The  whole  tenor  of  this  letter,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned,  is  a  tissue  of 
misrepresentations,  intended  to  place  -my  conduct  in  a  false  view  before 
the  world. 

I  am  welUware  that  those  who  know  Mr.  Curry  would  not  excuse  me 
for  taking  any  notice  of  his  slanders  generally,  but  from  fhe  particular 
nature  of  his  charge,  and  the  circumstance  of  his  being  connected  with 
your  department,  his  statement  may  be  thought  entitled  to  some  credit 
should  it  pass  without  rebuke.  ' 

He  is  your  officer,  you  are  the  witness  who  knows  the  gross  injustice 
done  me,  and  to  you  I  confidently  appeal  for  such  steps  as  will  do  that' 
which  is  just  to  the  country,  to  Mr.  Curry  and  to  myself. 

I  beg  to  be  informed  what  course  you  will  pursue  in  this  matter. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  most  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

Hon.*  Lewis  Cass.  Hu.  L.  White. 

^    On  the  night  of  the  15th  I  received  his  answer  dated  the  14th,  inclos- 
mg  a  copy  of  one  written  to  Mr.  Curry  on  the  9th. 

Department  op  War,  Jan.  nth,  1836. 
Dear  Sm :     I  must  ask  your  indulgence  for  not  having  answered  your 
letter  of  the  29th  inst.,  which  was  received  here  on  the  15th.     The  delav 

19  ^ 


290  MEMOm  OF  HUGH  LAWSON  "WHITE. 

has  been  owing  to  the  great  press  of  business,  and  to  the  propriety  of 
laying  the  matter  before  the  President. 

I  have  now  the  honor  to  send  the  copy  of  a  letter  addressed  to  Major 
Curry,  and  in  which  the  President's  disapprobation  is  conveyed  to  him. 
The  statement  that  Mr.  McConnell  was  employed  at  your  suggestion  is 
altogether  erroneous,  and  I  have  put  the  matter  right  by  giving  the  true 
facts  of  the  case.  I  consider  the  department  under  obligations  to  you, 
for  the  trouble  you  took  on  the  subject  of  the  employment  and  proceed- 
ings of  Mr.  McConnell,  and  I  have  endeavored  to  do  justice  to  his 
services,  so  far  as  these  are  known  to  me.  If  Major  Curry  intended  to 
intimate,  as  you  suppose,  that  there  was  a  communication  between  your- 
self and  Mr.  Boss,  such  an  intimation  was  highly  improper.  Indepen- 
dent, of  the  entire  want  of -proof  of  such  a  course,  your  word  is  quite 
sufficient  to  satisfy  me  that  there  was  no  just  ground  for  the  suggestion. 
T  am,  dear  sir,  very  respectfully. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

Lewis  Cass. 
Hon.  Hugh  L.  White. 


War  Dbpibtment  Jan.  9th,  1836. 
Sm:     The  .attention  of  this  department  has  been  drawn  to  a  letter 
from  you  to  the  editor  of  the  Federal  Union,  and  which  was  published 
in  the  Augusta  Oentinel  of  the  22d  ult. 

I  am  instructed  by  the  President,  if  that  Ifetter  was  written  by  you, 

to  eoBvey  to  you  his  disapprobation  of  a  part  of  it.     There  certainly  can 

be  no  impropriety  in  an  officer's  communicating  to  the  public  proper 

information,  when  circumstances  require  it,  and  the  general  proceedings 

relating  to  the  prospects  and  jjrogress  of  the  Cherokee  emigration,  are 

of  this  nature.     But  it  is  with  regret  the  President  observes,  in  this 

commtmication,  allusions  to  persons  and  parties,  which  do  not  seem  to  be 

necessary,  and  are  calculated  to  produce  an  injurious  effect.     There  is 

one  ertor  of  fact,  which  it  becomes  the  special  duty  of  this  department 

to  correct,  as  the  requisite  information  is  upon  its  tiles.     You  state  that 

Mr.  McConnell  "  has  for  some  years  past,  under  the  procurement  of 

Judge  White  of  Tennessee,  been  receiving  pay  from  the  United  States' 

Government,  as  a  secret  and  confidential  agent,"  &c. '  You  have  been 

led  into  a  mistake  on  this  subject.      Mr,  McConnell  was  not  employed 

under    the   procurement    of   Judge  White.     The  suggestion  that  Mr. 

McConnell's  services  might  be  useful,  as  well  to  tlie  United  States  as  to  the 

Cherokee  Indians,  was  made  to  this  department  from  another  and  very 

respectable  quarter.     As  all  the  necessary  circumstances  were  not  fully 

kijcwn  at  the  department,  proper  instructions  were  given  to  Mr  McCon- 


HIS   KELATIONS   TO    GENERAL   JACKSON.  291 

nell  and  enclosed  to  Judge  White,  to  be  deliv«red,  if  he  thought  the 
arrangement  would  bfe  useful.  Judge  White  had  no  agency  whatever  in 
the  matter,  until  he  was  requested,  by  the  exjiress  direction  of  the  Pre- 
sident, to  serve  as  a  medium  of  communication  between  Mr.  McOonnell 
and  this  department. 

Mr.  McConncll  transmitted  Various  reports,  containing  information 
respecting  the  state  of  things  in  the  Cherokee  country.  But  there  is 
nothing  in  these,  going  in  the  slightest  degree  to  show  that  he  did  not 
act  w.ith  due  fidelity,  as  well  to  the  United  States  as  to  the  Cherokee 
Indians. 

It  is  also  a  matter,  of  regret,  that  you  should  have  alluded  at  all  to 
the  employment  of  Mr.  McOonnell.  From  the  relation  in  which  ho 
stands  to  the  Cherokees,  and  the  suspicious  disposition  of  Indians,  the 
disclosure  may  even  put  his  life  at  hazard.  It  is  therefore  the  more 
imperative  upon  me,  to  state  explicitly,  as  I  have  done,  that  there  was 
nothing  in  the  report  of  Mr,  McConnell  which  could  give  just  offence  to 
the  Indians. 

The  President  has  directed  me  to  say,  that  he  has  read  and  approves 
this  letter,  and  that  while  he  appreciates  the  zeal  y6u  have  displayed  in 
the  execution  of  your  duties,  he  deems  it  incumbent  upon  him  to  recom- 
mend to  you  great  discretion,  and  particularly  to  convey  to  you  his  dis- 
approbation of  the  allusion  you  have  made  to  the  employment  of  Mr. 
McConnell. 

Very  respectfully, 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

[Signed]  Lewis  Cass. 

Major  B.  F.  Cuket,  New  EcTiota^  Georgia. 

To  this,  on  the  16  th,  I  wrote  a  very  short  reply : — 

'^  WiSHiNOTOif,  ./an.  16<A  1S36. 

Deae  Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  that  I  received  last 
night,  your  favor  under  date  of  the  14th,  with  its  enclosure,  in  answer 
to  mine  of  the  2d  inst. 

The  result  is  so  different  from  what,  I  think,  I  had  a  right  to  antici- 
pate, that  I  refrain  frota  any  remarks  t)n  the  contents  of  the  letter  written 
to  Mr.  Curry,  by  direction  of  the  President. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  most  respectfully. 

Your  obedient  servant. 

Hit.  L.  White. 

I  had  applied  in  the  only  friendly  mode  I  could  devise,  for  the  inter- 
position of  the  executive  power.    I  remembered  well  the  great  principle 


292  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

for  which  the  party  bad  struggled  to  elevate  the  President  to  his  present 
station.  I  remembered  his  recognition  of  it  in  his  inaugural  address, 
which  thousands  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  most  of 
those  now  in  the  reach  of  my  voice,  beard  him  deliver,  as  containing  the 
principles  upon  which  be  would  administer  the  government.  The  para- 
graph is  in  the  following  words : — 

"  The  recent  demonstration  of  public  sentiment  inscribed  on  the  list  of 
executive  duties,  in  characters  too  legible  to  be  overlooked,  the  task  of 
reform ;  \yhich  will  require  particularly  the  correction  of  those  abuses 
that  have  bi'ought  ih^  patronage  of  the  federal  government  into  conjlict 
with  the  freedom  of  elections^  and  the  counteraction  of  those  causes 
which  have  disturbed  the  rightful  course  of  appointment,  and  have 
placed,  or  continued  power  in  unfaithful  or  incompetent  hands." 

This  short  paragraph  shows  the  main  ground  .on  which  the  contest 
rested,  when  ended  in  the  election  of  the  present  Chief  Magistrate.  It 
contains  the  sentiments  avowed  by  him  in  presence  of  nearly  t\Venty 
thousand  freemen.  It  contains  the  sentiments  which,  as  one  of  his  advo- 
cates, I  honestly  entertained.  It  contains  the  sentiments  on  the  main- 
tenance of  which  I  believe  our  freedom  and  liberty  especially  depend. 
I  felt  hurt  and  mortified  upon  reading  the  Secretary's  letter ;  I  could  not 
reply  without  using  expressions  not  fit  to  address  to  a  member  ■  of  the 
President's  Cabinet.  In  place  of  Mr.  Curry's  receiving  such  a  rebuke  as 
would  deter  him  from  committing  a  similar  offence  in  future,  it  appeared 
to  me  that  he-  was  complimented.  Although  his  conduct  was  not 
approved  as  to  Mr.  McConnell,  as  to  me  it  was  very  well,  that  instead  of 
an  inferior  agent  be  was  to  be  viewed  as  an  electioneering  political  diplo- 
matist, and  that  hereafter,  if  the  Gardiner  spoke  of  by  the  senator  from 
Massachusetts,  the  other  day,  is  to  wear  his  diplomatic  button,  Mr. 
Curry  ought  to  figure  in  his  political  electioneering  star  and  garter. 

But,,  sir,  .what  was  I  to  do  next?  The  falsehood  has  gone  forth  to 
answer  the  meditated  mischief.  In  some  of  the  States  it  is  probable  it 
has  accomplished  its  object ;  how  is  it  to  be  contradicted  ?  I  have  been 
furnished  with  a  document  proving  the  falsehood.  Is  it  supposed  that  I 
would  sneak  to  a  printing  ptfice  to  beg  a  publication  of  its  contradiction? 
No,  I  cannot  descend  to  such  an  act  of  meanness.  If  I  could,  I  dare 
not.  The  proud,  high-minded  honorable  men  who  sent  me  here  would, 
for  such  an  act  of  degradation,  recall  me  from  a  station  among  honorable 
men,  and  thus  gratify  some  high  in  office  who  seek  to  displace  me. 

My  course  is  here ;  my  place  is  here :  from  my  stand  on  this  floor  I 
contradict  the  falsehood  and  expose  the  injustice.  If  my  opponent  will 
deny  my  statement,  or  justify  this  outrage,  I  meet  him  here  openly,  ftice 
to  face,  eye  to  eye,  and  maintain  and  assert  what  is  due  to  my  constitu- 
ents and  myself,  by  all  honorable  means  in  my  power. 

But  the  Nashville  Union — this  vehicle  of  slanders  and  falsehoods, 
gotten  up  in  this  city,  as  I  have  understood  for  just  such  purposes.    The 


HIS  RELATIONS  TO  GENEKAL  JACKSON.  293 

editor 'came  here  last  winter,  upon  his  own  mere,  notion,  or  by  the  solici- 
tation of  some  other  person,  with,  as  I  have  understood  and  believe,  not 
more  money  than  would  bear  his  expenses ;  he  lived  in  the  house  with  my 
honorable  colleague,  and  while  here,  was  fnrnished  with  some  five  or  six 
thousand  dollars,  to  establish  his  press  in  Nashville,  and,  without  relying 
upon  subscribers,  to  be  enabled  to  throw  his  paper  into  the  hands  of  every 
man  Avho^  would  condescend  to  read  it.  Even  this  very  number,  con- 
taining this  letter,  I  have  no  doubt,  has  been  innocently  sent  under 
the  frank  of  senators  from  this  floor,  to  many  of  the  States  in  the 
Union. 

If  there  is  any  person  within  my  hearing  who  can  contradict  my  state- 
ment as  to  the  manner  in  which  this  paper  was  established,  I  wish  to 
hear  him  do  so.  ,   -../^'..v 

[Mr.  Grimdy  rose  and  stated : — "  That  the  editor  had  come  here  last 
winter,  not  at  his  instance;  that  how  the  money  was  raised,  or  by  whom, 
he  had  no  knowledge;  tlyit  the  paper  had  taken  its  side,  and  wiis  main- 
taining it  as  well  as.  it  could ;  that  he  had  not  noticed  this  letter  in  it, 
and'  that  he  knew  there  was  great  scuffling  to  get  subscribers  for  it  at 
home.  Mr.  McConnell  he  knew,  and  thought  him  a  clever  man,  of  good 
sense,  and  he  believed  he  had  recommended  him  for  this  office."] 

To  which  Mr.  "White  replied — Yes,  Mr.  President,  there  was  a  great 
scuffling  to  get  subscribers  for  it.  So  great,  that  our  old  acquaintance, 
■  Samuel  G^vin,  the  land  officer,  from  Mississippi,  was  called  into  service, 
and  when  procuring  subscribers  at  Gallatin,  in  April  last,  wrote  to  Mr. 
Eitchie,  of  the  "  Enquii-er,"  the  celebrated  letter  as  to  Tennessee  politics, 
intended  unjustly  to  influence  the  Virginia  elections,  and  which  no  doubt 
had  the  desired  effect.  Mr.  President,  I  have  made  these  disclosures 
with  great  pain  and  the  most  deep  mortification ;  but  I  deemed  it  my 
duty  to  do  so.  The  answer  to  riiy  resolution  will  sliow  whether  it  will 
be  in  my  power,  and  whether  it  will  be  my  duty  to  attempt  anything 
further  on  the  unpleasant  subject.  '  -  • 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  Mr.  Curry's  letter^  alluded  to  in 
the  above  remarks : 

At  the  October  council,  there  attended  a  certain  Mr.  Payne,  and  one 
Samuel  McConnell,  of  Tennessee  ;  Pa_vne  hails  from  Jfew  York,  but  came 
through  Georgia.  He  is  of.  the  whig  party,  and  rumor  makes  him  an 
abolitionist.  He,  it  is  said,  formed  an  alliance  with  Mr.  Longstreet,  of 
Augusta,  and  other  editors,  by  which  he  was  to  furnish  matter,  and  they 
were  to  print  it  for  political  effect.  McConnell  is  tlie  same  who  insti 
gated  the  arrest  of  the  Georgia  surveyor,  and  had  him  carried  to  Athens, 
Tennessee,  for  a  violation  of  the  intercourse  laws  some  three  years  ago 
for  making  Unes  within  the  limits  of  ypur  SMte.  He  has  large  claims  for 
^■eservations  made  to  Indians  under  the  treaties  of  1817-19  ;  and  has  for 


294  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

some  years  past,  under  the  procurement  of  Judge  "White,  of  Tennessee, 
been  receiving  pay  from  the  United  States  govei'nment,  as  a  secret  and 
confidential  agent,  while  all  his  visible  efforts  have  been  to  defeat  the 
measnres  of  the  ostensible  agents  in  bringing  about  a  treaty. 

Lewis  Ross,  one  of  John  Ross's  executive  counsellors,  visited  Knoxville 
about  the  commencement  of  this  council,  and,  while  absent,  much  con- 
cern was  manifested  by  John,  to  know  where  his  bi'other  Lewis  could  be. 
LeAvis  at  length  arrived. 

Eumor  was  put  afloat  that  Judge  "White,  if  made  President,  would  do 
much  for  this  people. 

So  constant  and  glaring  did.  infringements  on  tlie  rights  of  the 
people,  similar  to  those  exhibited  above,  become,  that  they  were  a 
constant  theme  of  remark  on  the  floor  of  Congress.  Many  members 
of  the  opposition  made  assertions  which  were  never  answered  from 
the  other  side.  In  1836,  a  special  committee  was  appointed  by  the 
House  of  Representatives,  of  which  Mr,  "Wise  was  chairman,  to  inquire 
into  the  condition  of  the  public  fUnds.  At  the  instance  of  General 
Jackson  and  Mr.  "V^an  Buren,  Judge  "White  was 'summoned  to  appear 
before  this  committee,  which  he  did  in  January,  1837,  and  gave  evi- 
dence upon  oath,  of  many  instanced  in  which  oflficers  of  the  govern- 
ment and  those  in  their  employment,  had  attempted  to  influence 
public  opinion  in  elections  ;  and  made  a  statement  of  the  part  the 
President  himself  had  taken  in  the  late  presidential  canvass,  as  well 
as  his  attempt  to  influence  him  in  his  public  duties,  both  while  he 
was  President  of  the  Senate^  and  subsequently.  General  Jackson 
answered  these  charges  in  a  publication  some  months  afterwards,  in 
which  he  complained  of  Judge  "White's  deposition,  and  flatly  contra- 
dicted his  statements.  This  drew  forth  Judge  "White's  "  Address  to 
the  Freemen  of  Tennessee."  This  was  the  last  intercourse,  either  of  a 
public  or  private  nature,  that  ever  took  place  between  them. 

Judge  White's  testimony  before  the  committee,  and  also  his 
answer  to  General  Jackson's  circular,  are  here  subjoined,  that  all  Avho 
desire  may  read  and  decide  for  themselves. 

TESTIMONT   OF   THE   HON.   HUGH   L.   WHITE  ' 

'     Before  the  committee  apjiointed  to  inquire  into  the  executive 

departments,  &c. 

Monday,  Jan.  80, 1837. 

Hon.  Hugh  L.  "White,  a  senator  of  the  United  Sta,tes,  summonsed  as  a 
witness,  appeared  before  the  committee,  and  read  a  paper  of  the  following 
import : 


HIS  KELATIONS  TO  GENERAL  JACKSON.         295 


Declaration  of  the  Eon.  Hugh  L.  White. 

Sir  :  On  Saturday  evening  last,  I  was  summoned  to  attend  before  the 
committee  of  which  you  are  chairman,  and  give  evidence  touching  the 
matters  submitted  to  your  investigation.  I  now  appear  before  your  com- 
mittee at  the  time  specified  in  the  subpoena,  hut  not  in  ohedience  to  its 

mandate. 

I  am  a  member  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  now  in  session, 
and  in  the  daily  discharge  of  my  duties  as  a  senator,  and,  while  I  am  thus 
ebgaged,  do  deny  that  any  committee  of  the  House  of  Eepresentatives  has 
the  power,  by  its  mahdate,  to  compel  me  to  absent  myself  from  the  body 
of  which  I  am  a  member.  I  do,  therefore,  protest  against  the  power 
assumed  by  your  committee,  in  the  issuance  and  service  of  said  sub- 

peena. 

But,  at  the  same  time  that  I  feel  it  my  duty  thus  to  protest  against 
the  exercise  of  a  power  which  I  believe  is  not  vested  in  your  committee, 
I  assure  them  that  I  will  at  all  times,  When  my  duties  as  a  senator  do  not 
compel  me  to  be  elsewhere,  voluntarily  attend  and  give  them  upon  oath, 
all  the  information  I  possess  in  relation  to  any  of  the  matters  which  may 
come  within  the  range  of  their  investigation, 

I  respectfully  ask  that  this  protest  may  be  entered  on  the  journal  of 
your  proceedings,  lest  hereafter,  it  may  be  thought  I  have  sanctioned  the 
exercise  of  a  power  which,  it  is  easy  to  foresee,  may  be  so  used  as  to 
destroy  that  body  of  which  I  am  an  humble  member, 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  most  respectfully. 

Your  obedient  servant^ 

Hu.  L.  White. 

To  the  Hon.  Henrt  A,  "Wisk,  Chairman  of  the 

Special  Committee  of  the  House  of  Eepresentatives. 

The  Hon.  Mr.  White  then  read  to  the  committee  another  paper  of  the 
following  import : 

Reasons  of  the  Hon.  Hugh  L.  White  for  consenting  to  testify. 

"  Mr.  Chairman :  Before  being  sworn,  it  is  due  to  the  committee,  as 
well  as  myself,  that  I  should  make  a  very  short  statement,  to  show  the 
situation  in  which  I  am  about  to  be  placed,  without  any  agency  of 
niine. 

''■  For  many  years  I  have  been  on  the  most  intimate  and  confidential 
terms  with  the  Chief  Magistrate.  We  have  conversed  with,  and  written 
to,  each  other,  perhaps  with  as  much  freedom  as  if  we  had  been  brothers; 
much  that  has  passed  was,  of  course,  highly  confidential. 


296  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

"  I  should  hold  myself  disgraced  by  designedly  bringing  any  matters  of 
this  kind  before  the  public. 

"  If  sworn  I  must  tell  what  I  know  or  believe  to  be  true :  and  I  con- 

-        ■  *  ^  ' 

sider  myself  called  upon  to  testify,  at  the  instance  of  the  present  Chief 
Magistrate,  and  of  the  distinguished  citizen  who  has  been  chosen  to  suc- 
ceed him;  and  that,  if  any  disclosure  I  may  make  would  seem  to  be 
of  matters  which,  as  a  man  of  honor,  I  ought  not  te  make  public,  I  do 
so  in  consequence  of  the  necessity  they  have  imposed  on  me ;  and  that 
the  injunction  of  seerecy  has  been  removed  by  them,  and  not  by  me. 

"  With  this  statement,  I  am  now  ready  to  be  sworn,  if  the  committee 
desire  it."  '  '      . 


Testimony  of  the  Ron.  Hugh  L.  White. 

Monday,  Fed.  13, 1887. 

A  communication  in  writing,  in  answer  to  the  interrogatory  put  to  the 
Hon.  Hugh  L.  Whije,  was  received  through  the  chairman,  and  read  to 
the  committee,  as  follows  : 

The  oath  administered  to  me  was,  "to  tell  the  truth;  the  whole 
truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth,"  &c. 

After  being  thus  sworn,  the  interrogatory  put  to  me"  is  in  the  word,8 
following:  •  • 

Question.  "Do  you,  of  your  own  knowledge,  know  of  any  act  by 
either  of  the  heads  of  the  executive  departments,  which  is  either  corrupt, 
or  a  violation  of  their  oflicial  duties?" 

"From  the  manner  in  which  this  question  is  worded,  it  Js  somewhat 
diflBcult  for  me  to  determine  to  what  extent  1  ought  to  proceed  in  my 
answer.  I  presume  it  could  not  be  the  meaning  of  the  committee  to  con- 
stitute me  the  judge  of  what  shall  be  considered  corruption,  or  a' violation 
of  official  duty,  by  any  of  the  heads  of  the  executive  departments.  If 
so,  I  might  believe  facts  within  my  knowledge  did  not  amount  to  either 
corruption,  or  a  violation  of  official  duty,  and  on  that  account  omit  any 
staternent  whatever ;  or,  on  the  other  hand,  state  facts  which  I  believe 
prove  one  or  the  other,  when  the  whole  committee  might  disagree  with' 
me  in  opinion,  and  consider  the  disclosures  entirely  useless,  as  not  tend- 
ing to  prove  any  impropriety  whatever.  In  this  situation,  I  presume  I 
shall  best  discharge  my  duty  by  telling  what  I  may  know  falling  within 
the  range  of  either  of  the  executive  departments,  and  such  circumstances 
as  may  tend  to  show  the  motive  with  which  the  act  was  done  or  omitted, 
leaving  it  to  the  committee  to  determine  whether  any  statements  I  may 
make  will  be  of  use  or  not  in  their  investigation. 

Of  my  own  knowleidge  I  do  not  know  of  any  frauds  actually  practised 
either  as  to  the  sale  of  public  lands,  or  in. the  purchase  of  Indian  reser- 
vations; yet,  from  information  I  have  received,  in  which  I  confide,  I  do 


HIS   RELATIONS   TO    GENERAL   JACKSON.  297 

believe  great  frauds  have  been  practised,  ajid  are  yet  going  oh,  as  to  both ; 
and  that  in  some  of  these,  our  own  officers  or  agents  have  been,  and 
now  are,  concerned  or  interested ;  and  that  if  the  committee  will  call 
upon  persons  who  were  and  yet  are  in  the  vicinity  of  the  places  where 
those  transactions  have  taken  place,  to  disclose  what  they  know,  these 
frauds,  and  those  concerned  in  them,  can  be  ascertained.  Whether  the 
heads  of  either  of  the  departments  are  liable  to  be  censured  for  any  of 
these  acts,  the  committee  will  of  course  decide  for  themselves,  when  they 
shall  have  ascertained  all  the  facts. 

In  the  year  1830  the  system  now  going  on  for  removing  the  Indians, 
with  their  consent,  out  of  the  limits  of  the  States  and  territories,  and 
settling  them  west  of  the  Mississippi,  was  sanctioned  by  Congress.  It 
has  been  progressing  as  rapidly  aS  possible  ever  since.  The  duties 
relating  to  this  branch  of  business  pertained  to  the  War  Department, 

At  the  session  of  Congress  for  the  years  1831  and  1832,  and  near  the 
time  when  a  short  session  would  have  terminated,  the  Secretary  of  War 
eanie  to  me,  as  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Indian  Affairs,  and  stated 
that  his  duties  were  becoming  so  onerous  that  he  could  not  discharge 
them  without  an  alteration  in  the  Indian  Department ;  that  the  gentle- 
man who  was  then  at  the  head  of  the  Indian  bureau,  and  who  was  then 
receiving  a  salary  of  fourteen  or  sixteen  hundred  dollars,  although  a 
very  amiable  man,  was  entirely  incapable  of  discharging  his  duties  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  give  that  aid  which  the  public  interest  required ; 
that  he  had  drafted  a  bill  to  create  the  office  of  Commissioner  of  Indian 
Affiiirs,  with  a  salary  of  three  thousand  dollars  per  annum,  which  he 
wished  me  to  introduce,  and  endeavor  to  have  passed  into  a  law.  I 
informed  him  that  the  session  had  then  so  far  advanced,  and  the  opposi- 
tion to  the  Indian  system  was  so  strong,  that  I  doubted  it  would  be  out 
of  my  power ;  besides,  that  some  of  the  appointments  which  had  been 
made,  were,  in  my  opinion,  injudicious,  and  that  if  this  office  were 
created  and  fiUed  by  a  person  as  incompetent  as  he  represented  the  per- 
son then  at  the  head  of  the  Indian  bureau  to  be,  the  jjublic  business 
would  be  no  better  done,  and  there  would  be  necessarily  a  considerable 
increase  of  expense,  and  that  I  was  unwiUing  to  move  on  the  subject, 
unless  I  could  be  assured,  if  the  office  were  created,  it  should  be  well 
filled.  This  he  assured  me  should  be  done.  I  then  requested  him  to 
speak  with  the  chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Indian  Affiiirs  of  the  House, 
and  if  his  co-operation  could  be  procured,  I  would  on  my  part,  do  all  in 
my  power  to  give  .effect  to  his  wishes. 

The  bill  was  introduced,  and,  owing  to  the  strong  representation  made 
of  the  necessity  for  its  passage,  the  opposition  in  the  Senate  was  with- 
drawn and  the  law  was  passed.  Congress  adjourned,  and  no  appoint- 
ment of  commissioner  was  made  until  the  next  session ;  and  then  the 
same  gentleman  whose  supposed  incompetency  at  the  head  of  the  Indian 


298  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    ^.AWSON    WHITE. 

bureau,  with  a  small  salary,  had  given  rise  to  this  law,  was  nominated  ;o 
fill  the  otfice  of  conmiissioner,  to  which  was  attached  the  salary  of  three 
thousand  dollars  per  annum.     The  nomination  was  referred  to  the  Com« 
mittee  on  Indian  Affairs,  and  they  reported  recommending  that  the  nomi- 
nation should  be  confirmed.    At  that  session  'I  happened  t6  be  in  the 
chair;  and  when  I  heard  the  report,  withdrew  from  the  chair,  and 
spoke  to  the  gentleman  who  made  the  report ;  told  him  what  had  passed 
between  the  secretary  and  myself,  and  that  I  felt  it  due  to  the  Senate 
and  to  tjie  country  that  the  facts  should  be  disclosed,  so  that  the  nomina^ 
tion  mig-ht  be  acted-  on  with  a  full  understanding  of  the  facts.     He  told 
me  he  would  have  the  nomination  laid  on  the  table,  until  he  could  see  the 
secretary,  and  have  his  explanation  on  the  subject.     He  did  so,  and  after- 
wards informed  me  that  he  had  seen  and  conversed  witTi  the  secretary, 
and  comnmnicated  to  him  my  statement ;  and  that  the  secretary  admitted 
my  statement  to  be  true,  as  to  what  passed  between  us,  but  that  after 
the  passage  of  the  law  Mr.  Herring  had  devoted  himself  to  acquiring 
a  knowledge  of  the  duties  pertaining  to  the  office,  and  was  then  vroll 
qualified  to  discharge  them.     Under  this  statement  I  said  nothing  further, 
and  the  nomination  was  confirmed  ;  and  it  so  did  happen  that,  although 
I  never  heard  Mr.  Herring's  integrity  called  in  question,  yet  his  want  of 
capacity  was  admitted  by  all  with  whom  I  conversed  before  he  quit  the 
oflice. 

During  the  last  session  he  was  appointed  pay-master,  and  Mr.  0.  Harris 
appointed  commissioner,  who,  so  far  as  I  can  judge,  is  a  most  faithful, 
competent  and  eflicient  ofiicer. 

I  think  the  public  interest  suffered  much  from  the  incompetency  of  Mr. 
Herring  while  he  was  in  office;  and  that  it  will  take  some  time  still  to 
come  before  his  successor,  with  all  his  zeal,  watchfulness  and  industry, 
will  be  enabled  to  make  those  reforms  which  the  public  interest  requires. 
I  feel  that  I  should  do  the  late  secretary  injustice,  were  I  to  stop  here. 
I  do  not  believe  he  intended  to  deceive  me,  or  to  injure  the  public,  when 
he  promised  me  that  if  the  oflice  was  created  it  should  be  well  filled ;  but 
that  after  it  was  created,  as  it  connected  itself  with  all  the  ramiJicaUons 
of  the  Indian  Department,  and  the  officer  might  have-a  tery  extensive  influ- 
ence, it  \yas  esteemed  a  matter  of  importance  to  have  it  filled  with  a 
decided  friend  to  the  gentleman  wlio  Avas  then  looked  to  by  the  President 
and  many  others  as  the  person  who  ouglit  to  succeed  the  present  Cliief 
Magistrate ;  and  that  the  se,eretary  was  constrained  to  yield  to  an  influ- 
ence which  he  believed  he  had  not  the  pow«r  successfully  to  resist.  I 
am  the  more  inclined  to  adopt  this  opinion,  because,  from  a  very  exten- 
sive intercourse  with  the  secretary  relative  to  tlie  Indian  affairs,  I  was 
impressed  with  the  belief  that  in  all  cases  where  he  was  left  free  to  pur- 
sue his  own  judgment,  he  was  disposed  to  act  with  the  utmost  fairness, 
and  with  a  strict  regard  to  public  interest ;  and  because  I  know,  in  a 


HIS    RELATIONS   TO    GENERAL    JACKSON.  299 

• 

fnan/ier  most  satisfactory  to  myself,  that,  as  early,  as  1831  (if  net  sooner), 
when  the  first  cabinet  was  dissolved,  and  a  new  one  to  b4  created,  the 
President  had  fixed  his  mind  upon  the  present  President  elect  as  the  most 
suitable  person  to  succeed  him ;  and  that,  Avith  a  view  to  procure  har- 
mony among  the  members  of  his  political  family,  it  was  considered 
important  to  remove  from  the  old  cabinet  three  gentlemen,  who,  it  was 
believed,  d'id  not  coincide  in  opinion  with  him  upon  tliat  subject,  and 
form  a  new  cabinet  which  would  be  a  unit ;  that  is,  each  member  of  it 
concurring  with  the  President  as  to  the  person  most  proper  to  succeed 
him  wheji  his  eight  years  of  service  should  terminate. 

"Wlien  the  old  cabinet  was  broken  up,  it  was  not  wished  to  have  the 
services  of  Major  Eaton ;  the  intention  and  wish  was,  to  put  me  in  his 
place,  and  with  my  aid  in  Tennessee,  to  have  him  elected  to  succeed  me 
in  the  Senate. 

Tliis  opinion  as  to  the  motive  for  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Herring  is 
still  further  fortified  and  confirmed  in  my  mind,  from  the  belief  that  a  very- 
large  portion  of -all  the  officers  appointed  from  that  time  to  this  have  been 
selected  upon  the  same  principles,  aiid  with  a  view  to  the  same  object. 

Connected  with  this  subject,  and  tending  to  show  that  I  am  most  prob- 
ably correct  in  the  view  whicli  I  take  of  it,  there  are  many  circumstances 
which  I  have  become  acquainted  with,  which  show  that  the  President 
watched  with  care,  and  uniformly  endeavored  to  prevent,  everything 
which  would  have  the  effect  of  enabling  any  other  citizen  to  compete, 
successfully,  with  the  gentleman  who  was  his  favorite.  During  the  same 
session  of  1832  or  1833,  when  Mr.  Herring  was  appointed,  it  will  be 
remembered,  the  United  States  seemed  to  be  on  the  eve  of  a  civil  war 
with  South  Carolina,  on  account  of  the  tariff;  and  that  a  bill  was  sfent  to 
the  House  of  Representatives  from  the  Treasury  Department,  proposino-  a 
modification  and  a  reduction  of  it ;  that  the  .provisions  of  that  bill  were 
so  changed  in  the  House,  that  it  became  very  unacceptable  to  a  large 
mpjori-ty,  and  had  no  prospect  of  finally  passing;  that,  in  this  state  of 
things,  and  after  what  was  called  the  Force  Bill  had  been  considerablv  dis- 
cussed in  the  Senate,  Mr.  Clay  introduced  what  is  commonly  called  the 
Compromise  Bill,  and,  upon  its  second  reading,  it  had  been  referred  to  a 
select  committee,  composed  of  seven  members.  This  committee,  it  was 
my  duty,  as  presiding  officer,  to  appoint.  Before  the  members  of  it  were 
named,  I  received  a  note  from  the  President,  requesting  me  to  go  to  his 
house,  as  he  wished  to  see  me.  I  returned  for  answer,  that  while  the 
Senate  was  in  session  it  was  out  of  ujy  power  to  go,  but  that  as  soon  as  it 
adjourned  I  would  call  on  him.  I  felt  the  high  responsibility  which 
rested  on  me  in  appointing  the  committee ;  the  fate  of  the  bill,  in  a  good 
degi-ee,  depended  on  it;  and  if  the  hill  failed,  we  would  probably  be 
involved  in  a  most  painful  conflict.  I  endeavored  to  make  the  best  selec- 
tion I  could,  by  taking  some  tariff  men,  some  anti-tariff,  one  nullifier  and 


300  MEatOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

« 

Mr.  Clay  himself — hoping  that  if  a  majoi'ity  of  a  committee,  in  which  all 
interests  and  views  were  represented,  could  agree  on  anything,  it  was 
likely  it  would  pass.  Taking  these  principles  for  my  guide,  I  wrote  down 
the  names  of  seven  members,  Mr.  Clayton,  of  Delaware,  being  one ;  and 
immediately  before  we  adjourned,  handed  the  names  to  the  secretary, 
with  directions  to  put  them  on  the  journal,  and  in  the  course  of  the  even- 
ing waited  on  the  President.  Soon  after  we  met,  he  mentioned  that  he 
had  wished  to  see  me  on  the  subject  of  appointing  a  committee  on  Mr. 
Clay's  bill,  to  ask  that  Mr.  Clayton  might  not  be  put  on  it ;  as  he  was  hos- 
tile to  the  Administration,  and  unfriendly  to  Mr.  McLane,  he  feai'ed  he 
would  use  his  endeavor  to  have  a  preference  given  to  Mr.  Clay's  bill  over 
that  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  or  words  to  that  effect.  I  observed,, 
in  answer,  that  it  would  always  give  me  great  pleasure  to  conform  to  the 
wishes  of  my  political  friends,  whenever  I  could  do  so  with  propriety ; 
but  that  the  treasury  bill  had  been  so  altered  and  mangled,  and  that,  as  I 
understood,  in  a  good  degree  by  the  votes  of  his  own  party,  that  it  had 
but  few  friends ;  that  we  seemed  to  be  on  the  eve  of  a  civil  war,  and  that 
for  the  sake  of  averting  such  a  calamity,  I  would  further  all  in  mj^  power 
any  measure,  come  from  whom  it  might,  which  would  give  peace  to  the 
country,  and  that  any  bill,  having  that  for  its  object,  was  esteemed  by 
me  a  measure  ahove  parti/,  and  any  man  who  was  the  author  of  it  was 
welcome  to  all  the  credit  he  could  gain  by  it.  But,  at  all  events,  it  was 
too  late  to  talk  on  the  subject,  as  I  had  handed  the  names  of  the  commit- 
tee to  the  secretary  before  w^e  adjourned ;  and  that  as  I  had  a  very  high 
opinion  of  Mr.  Clayton's  taleats  and  libei'al  feelings,  I  had  put  him  on  th^ 
committee,  without  knowing  he  was  personally  unkind  to  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury.  He  then  asked  me  if  I  could  not  se,e  the  secretary  of  the 
Senate  that  evening-,  and  substitute  some  other  name  for  Mr.  Clayton, 
before  the  journal  was  made  up ;  I  told  him  I  could  not — in  my  judgment 
it  would-be  wrong;  and  then  the  interview  tenninated. 

An  incident  occurred  relative  to  an  appointment,  falling  in  with  the 
business  of  the  State  Depai-tment,  which  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  state,  but  do 
not  know  that  the  Secretary  of  State  had  any  participation  in  it. 

At  the  session  of  ;1833  and  1884,  if  my  memory  serves  me,  Mr.  Stevep- 
son,  of  Virginia,  was  nominated  as  Minister  to  Great  Britain,  and  his 
nomination  rejected.  At  the  session  of  1834  and  1885,  on  the  Sunday 
immediately  preceding  the  close  of  the  session,  a  gentleman  called  at  my 
lodgmgs  to  see  me,  and  informed  me  that  he  had  called,  at  the  instance 
of  the  President,  to  consult  me  on  the  subject  of  again  nominating  Mr. 
Stevenson  as  Minister  to  Great  Britain ;  and  to  say,  that  if  I  believed  a 
majority  in  the  Senate  could  be  procured  to  confirm  the  nomination,  the 
name  of  Mr.  Stevenson  would  be  sent  in ;  if  not,  no  nomination  would  be 
made  during  the  session,  I  observed  to  the  gentleman,  I  could  not  give 
any  answer,  as  I  had  heard  nothing  on  the  subject,  and  had  not  reflected 


HIS   RELATIONS   TO   GENEEAL   JACKSON.  301 

on  it ;  and  further  said,  from  what  I  could  hear,  I  was  at  a  loss  to  know 
whether  I  myself  was  viewed  as  friendly,  or  the  reverse.  The  gentleman 
rephed,  there  was  a  mistake  on  that 'suhject;  that  it  was  commonly 
thought  Mr.  Stevenson  and  Mr.  Ritchie,  of  the  Enquirer,  were  friendly  to 
Mr.  Van  Buren,  but  that  was  not  so;  they  wei*e  Soured  with  him, 
believing  it  was  his  wish  to  make  Mr.  Rives  the  great  man  of  Virginia. 
After  some  further  conversation,  I  told  him  I  would  think  of  it  until  next 
morning,  and  would  then  tell  him  what  I  thought.  He  did  call  the  next 
"  morning,  when  I  requested  him  to  say  to  the  President,  that  I  had  no 
means  of  knowing  how  other  senators  would  vote,  and  that  the  only 
advice  I  could  give  was,  for  the  President  to  do  what  he  believed  to  be 
his  duty,  leaving  the  senators  to  discharge  theirs. 

The  nomination  was  not  sent  in  till  the  next  session ;  and,  in  the  mean 
time,  Mr.  Stevenson  had  been  presiding  officer  at  the"  Baltimore  conven- 
tion,'and  an  active  partisan  in  aiding  to  carry  out  the  views  and  wishes 
of  the  President  as  to  his  successor. 

As  the  time  of  the  election  of  his  successor  approached  nearer  and 
nearer,  the  Chief  Magistrate  became  more  and  more  open  and  undisguised 
in  his  interference  to  influence  and  control  public  opinion.  I  am  well 
acquainted  with  his  signature,  and  have  seen  many  newspapers  and  other 
publications  sent  under  his  frank  to  individuals,  and  to  members  of  assem- 
bly, calculated  and  intended  to  injure,  in  public  estimation,  those  who 
were  unwilling  to  act  in  accordance  with  his  wishes  as  to  his  successor ; 
have  seen  a  toast  given  by  him  at  a  public  dinner ;  have  seen  letters  pub- 
lished from  him  in  newspapers,  and  have  heard  of  many  others  and  now 
have  copies  of  some  never  published ;  and  all  this  after  he  had  endeavored 
to  induce  me,  and  the  State  in  which  I  reside,  to  accede  to  his  wishes, 
under  the  promise  of  his  influence  to  have  my  name  used  in  the  first 
instance  as  Vice-President,  and  afterwards  for  tlie  Presidency,  as  I  have 
been  informed,  and  verily  believe.  And  to  satisfy  the  committee  that  I 
do  not  speak  unguardedly,  and  from  unkind  feelings  upon  this  subject,  I 
subjoin  to  this  answer  the  extract  of  a  letter  dated  23d  August,  1836,  from 
Mr.  Orville  Bradley,  of  Hawkins  county,  Tennessee.  He  is  a  man  of  high 
character  for  intelligence  and  veracity,  and  I  have  not  the  shade  of  a 
doubt  that  everything  he  there  states  on  the  subject  of  his  conversation 
with  the  President  is  strictly  true. 

In  the  course  of  last  summer,  the  President  made  a  visit  to  his  home 
in  Tennessee ;  and,  as  I  have  been  informed,  and  verily  believe,  almost 
as  soon  as  he  entered  the  State,  denounced  me  and  several  of  my  col- 
leagues, who  are  my  political  friends,  publicly,  and  in  strong  terms ; 
charging  some  of  them,  and  especially  Col.  Peyton,  with  having  given  a 
vote  relative  to  an  appropriation  on  the  Cherokee  treaty,  directly  con- 
trary to  what  the  journal,  the  newspapers,  and  members  who  had  been 
present,  at  the  passage  of  the  biU,  showed,  and  stated  to  be  the  fact ;  and, 


302  MEMOIK    of    HUGH    LAWSON    WmTE. 

as  to  another  of  them,  Mr.  Hnntsraan,  in  answer  to  a  question  from  him, 
he  alleged  he  was  on  the  fence^  and  it  was  doiibtful  which  side  he  woiild 
fall;  and  afterwards,  when  written  to  by  Mr.  Huntsman,  would  appear 
to  have  forgotten  that  he  ever  used  such  expressions:  all  which  will 
appear  by  a  copy  of  Mr.  Huntsman's  letter  to  him ;  and  a  copy  of  his 
answer,  and  my  reply,  hereto  attached ;  and  the  committee  will  readily 
perceive,  by  an  extract  of  a  letter  from  Ool.  O'Brien,  and  a  certificate  of 
Mr.  Carriger,  both  highly  respectable  men,  that  his  memory  is  so  much 
impaired,  as  not  to  be  relied  on,  even  for  a  few  months,  for  what  he  has 
said  relative  to  the  character  and  conduct  of  a  representative  in  Congress. 

Under  all  these  circumstances,  although  I  feel  I,  and  the  Senate  through 
me,  were  misled,  in  the  creation  of  the  office  of  Commissioner  of  Indian 
Aiiairs,  and  in  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Herring  to  fill  said  office ;  and 
believe  that,  upon  investigation,  it  will  be  found  that  frauds,  in  this  branch 
of  the  administration  of  the  "War  Department,  have  been  committed ;  and 
that  some  of  the  officers  or  agents  of  the  government  have  participated 
in,  and  derived  pecuniary  benefits  from  them ;  yet  I  do  not  believe  the 
Secretary  of  War  intended  to  do  wrong,  but  was  constrained  to  act  in 
accordance  with  tlie  wishes  of  others. 

Amidst  the  variety  of  daily  duties  claiming  attention,  and  without 
anything  but  a  general  question  pointing  to  a  particular  transaction,  it  ia 
very  probable  that  some  facts  and  circumstances,  within  my  knowledge, 
are  omitted,  which  more  direct  and  specific  questions  would  bring  to  ray 
recollection.  It  has  been  my  wish  to  make  my  answer  as  full  as  I  rea- 
sonably could,  that  I  might  save  the  committee  the  trouble  of  a  protracted 
examination. 


Extract  from  Mr.  Bradley''s  Letter. 

Hawkins  County,  East  Tennessebt,  Aug.  28, 1836. 
In  the  fall  of  1834,  on  his  return  from  the  West,  General  Jackson  called 
at  ray  father's ;  I  was  with  him  then,  and  travelled  some  distance  with 
him  along  the  road  in  this  county  (Hawkins).  In  the  course  of  the  time 
we  were  together,  the  subject  of  succession  was  freely  discussed.  Your 
claims  were  mentioned,  and  the  feeling  of  the  State  to  have  opposition  to 
Van  Buren.  I  spoke  of  the  attempt  which  had  been  made  in  the  assem- 
bly of  1833,  of  which  I  was  a  member,  to  nominate  Judge  White,  which 
I  told  him  I  thought  I  had  been  mainly  instrumental  in  defeating,  by 
virtue  of  an  authority  you  had  given  me  before  you  left  Nashville,  to  say 
you  desired  it  should  not  be  done.  I  told  General  Jackson  that  I  thought, 
after  having  had  considerable  opportunities  of  forming  a  correct  estimate, 
that  I  felt  satisfied  that  two-thirds  of  the  members  of  that  assembly  were 
indisposed  to  support  Van  Buren,  and  woidd  not  do  it,  if  they  could  get 


HIS   KELATIONS   TO   GENERAL   JACKSON.  303 

any  other  respectable  man  of  their  own  principles  to  vote  for ;  that  the 
assembly  was  only  restrained  from  nominating  Judge  "White,  by  his  own 
disinclination  to  such  nomination,  and  by  an  apprehension  that  in  the 
condition  of  the  public  feeling  in  the  United  States  (it  was  just  after  the 
removal  of  the  deposits),  that  his  nomination  might  throw  such  a  fire- 
brand into  the  ranks  of  tiie  Administration  as  might  break  down  Judge 
"White,  and  prostrate  the  whole  party,  and  throw  the  power  of  the 
government  into  the  hands  of  the  bank  party,  and  by  the  further  consi- 
deration, that  as  Tennessee  had  the  incumbent  of  the  Presidency,  that  it 
might  be  considered  arrogant  in  them  to  be  the  first  to  nominate  another 
of  her  citizens  for  that  high  office.  I  also  stated  to  General  Jackson  my 
opinion,  that  if  Judge  White  should  receive  a  respectable  nomination  any- 
where out  of  the  State,  that  it  would  be  immediately  and  generally  followed 
up  in  Tennessee.  I  told  the  President  that  immediately  after  the  rise  of 
the  assembly,  and  before  I  left  Nashville,  I  had  written  to  Judge  "White  a 
full  account  of  the  state  of  things  at  Nashville,  all  that  had  occurred,  the 
part  that  I  had  taken,  and  the  reasons  that  had  influenced  me-,  and  that 
Judge  "White  had  immediately  answered  me,  approving  of  my  .course,  and 
stating  that  if  he  had  been  nominated,  that  under  the  state  of  things  that 
then  existed  at  "Washington,  he  should  have  felt  bound  to  put  down  the 
movement  under  liis  own  hand  and  signature. 

I  further  told  General  Jackson,  that  I  thought  there  was  a  decided 
indisposition  in  Tennessee  to  support  "V^an  Buren,  and  intimated  to  him, 
that  although,  under  the  circumstances  that  then  existed,  I  had  felt  it  my 
duty  to  oppose,  among  the  members,  any  attempt  by  the  assembly  to 
bring  out  Judge  "White,  that  I  did  not  like  to  support  Van  Buren,  if  I 
could  please  myself  any  better.  General  Jackson  entered  warmly  into  a 
vindication  of  Van  Buren  ;  spoke  of  him  in  the  highest  terms,  said  that 
he  was  the  man  to  whom  the  party,  generally,  out  of  Tennessee,  was  look- 
ing to  be  his  successor ;  that  "White  could  hardly  get  a  vote  out  of  Ten- 
nessee, and  that  Tennessee  must  not  separate  from  the  rest  of  his  fi-iends ; 
that  he  found  there  was  a  strong  disposition  in  this  State  to  press  the 
claims  of  Judge  "White,  but  that  it  would  not  receive  any  countenance  or 
support  elsewhere.  But  further,  said  he,  this  matter  must  be  compro- 
mised. Judge  White  and  the  State  of  Tennessee  ought  to  be  satisfied  to 
have  the  name  of  Judge  White  on  the  ticket  with  Mr.  Van  Buren  as  Vice 
President.  Judge  White  is  yet  young  enough  to  come  in  after  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  and  such  an  arrangement  will  make  all  right  now,  and  secure  the 
certain  elevation  of  Judge  White,  after  Mr.  Van  Buren.  I  do  not  know, 
said  he,  with  a  smile,  what  we  shall  do  with  Eichard  M.  Johnson,  but  I 
suppose  we  can  arrange  the  matter  with  him  some  other  way.  General 
Jackson  requested  me  to  come  on  to  Washington  at  the  commencement 
of  the  session  of  Congress ;  and  when  I  tdld  him  I  could  not,  he  requested 
me  to  write  to  him  during  the  winter  what  was  going  on  in  Tennessee, 


304  MEMOIK    OF  ,  HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

I  told  General  Jackson,  when  he  proposed  that  Judge  "White  should  be 
put  on  the  ticket  as  Vice  President,  that  if  Judge  White  should  be  run  on 
the  same  ticket  with  Van  Buren,  that  I  would  support  it,  and  I  thought 
a  majority  of  those  who  were  desirous  of  bringing  out  Judge  White  in 
Tennessee  would  do  the  same,  but  that  it  would  not  satisfy  all. 

I  told  the  substance  of  this  conversation  to  Judge  Powell,  and  John 
Kennedy,  Esq.,  shortly  after  it  occurred ;  I  think,  also,  to  John  Young,  of 
this  county,  and  S.  D.  Mitchell,  and,  perhaps,  to  some  othei's. 

When  you  came  on  afterwards,  the  same  fall,  on  your  way  to  Washing- 
ton, I  told  it  to  you  at  Rogersville.  Your  reply,  after  listening  till  I  got 
through,  was,  that  the  office  of  Vice  President  of  the  United  States  was  a 
place  not  unworthy  of  the  ambition  of  any  man,  when  properly  obtained ; 
that  it  was,  perhaps,  greatly  superior  to  your  merits,  but  that  you  would 
not  accept  that  or  any  other  office,  when  your  name  was  to  be  used  as  a 
lure  to  draw  men  into  the  support  of  a  ticket  they  would  not  otherwise 
vote  for.  We  had  other  and  further  conversation  on  the  matter  of  the 
same  tenor,  which  it  is  not  necessary  now  to  recapitulate.  Immediately 
after  luy  leaving  your  room,  I  was. accosted  by  several  of  those  to  whom 
I  had  told  General  Jackson's  proposition  of  your  being  put  on  the  ticket 
as  Vice  President,  and  asked  if  you  would  accede  to  that  proposition.  I 
gave  them  your  reply,  as  above  set  forth.  They  then  said  you  would 
[not]  run;  for  in  the  conversations  they  had  heard  upon  the  subject  of 
your  nomination,  it  had  been  maintained  by  many — perhaps,  a  majority 
— that  you  would  not  allow  your  name  to  be  run  at  all.  General  Jackson 
had  expressed  that  opinion  in  the  conversation  we  had.  He  had  also 
stated,  he  had  no  objection  to  a  nomination  of  Judge  White,  if  he  was 
only  recommended  to  the  American  people,  and  to  the  favorable  conside- 
ration of  a  general  convention  of  the  party ;  but  that  any  attempt  to  pro- 
cure an  absolute  nomination  must  be  put  down  by  his  friends. 

The  foregoing  is  the  substance  of  my  conversation  with  General  Jack- 
son, in  relation  to  your  nomination  and  being  run  for  the  Presidency  to 
the  best  of  my  recollection.  At  this  late  period,  I  have,  for  the  first  time, 
attempted  to  reduce  it  to  writing,  and,  of  course,  cannot  pretend  to  be 
absolutely  and  certainly  right  in  every  particular.  But  I  think  I  have 
committed  no  essential  errors. 

You  are  at  liberty  to  use  this  letter  as  you  please.  I  do  not  wish  it 
to  go  into  the  newspapers  without  some  strong  necessity.  But  if  such 
should  exist,  I  will^not  shrink  from  the  responsibility. 

Your  friend, 

Oeville  Beadley. 
The  Hon.  Hugh  L.  White, 


HIS  RELATIONS  TO  GENERAL  JACKSON.         305 

Washington  Citt,  Jan.  1, 1836,  (7.) 

Dkae  Sib  :  In  a  speech  which  was  made  by  Judge  "White  at  Jonesboro, 
Tennessee,  and  which  has  been  pnbHshed  in  the  papers  of  that  State  and 
elsewhei'e,  he  stated  in  substance  (I  have  not  the  speech  before  me),  that 
you  were  asked  how  I  stood  in  relation  to  the  Administration,  and  the  com- 
ing election  for  President ;  and  that  your  reply  was,  I  do  not  know  how 

HE  STANDS  ;    I  BELIEVE  HE  IS  UPON  THE  FENCE,  AND  IT  IS  UNCERTAIN  WHIOH 

SIDE  HE  WILL  DROP.  The  first  time  I  saw  Judge  White  after  the  publi- 
cation of  his  speech,  I  j*equested  to  know  who  was  his  author  in  regard 
to  the  expression  you  were  said  to  have  made.  He  gave  the  name  of  Mr..' 
O'Brien,  of  Washington  couhty,  Tennessee  (if  I  remember  right),  as  the 
person  who  heard  you  make  the  expression.  It  seems  that  one  of  my 
colleagues,  and  an  honorable  member  from  Vii-ginia,  have  thought  pi-oper 
to  reiterate  this  charge  upon  the 'floor  of  Congress,  in  the  discussion  of  a 
question  now  pending  and  undeterminated  in  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives. 

Not  having  any  acquaintance  with  Mr.  O'Brien,  and  having  some  doubts 
in  rega;rd  to  the  accuracy  of  his  statements,  I  hope  you  will  not  deem  it 
disrespectful  in  me  to  ask  from  you  a  refutation  or  a  confirmation  of  it. 

I  know,  sir,  that  the  weighty  affairs  of  government,  which  draw  so 
largely  upon  your  time  and  attention,  leave  you  but  little  time  to  attend 
to  small  matters  like  this;  yet  it  has  become  one  of  considerable  import- 
ance to  me,  or  it  is  made  so  through  the  agency  of  others.  v 

As  I  do  not  consider  that  I  occupied  the  doubtful  position  assigned  me, 
and  having  no  reason  to  believe  that  you  would  knowingly  do,  me  the 
least  injustice,  I  ask  with  the  mor6  confidence  your  answer  as  early  as 
my  be  convenient. 

With  sentiments  of  respect,  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

Adam  Huntsman. 
The  President  of  the  United  States. 


Washington,  January  2, 18S6,  (7.) 
.  Sir  :  Your  letter  of  the  1st  instant  is  before  me.  I  have  not  the  slightest 
recollection  of  having  made  the  remarks  in  reference  to  you,  which,  it 
seems  from  your  note  of  yesterday's  date,  was  imputed  by  Judge  White 
to  me,  in  a  speech  at  Jonesboro,  Tennessee.  I  do  not  know,  nor  have  I 
any  recollection  of  the  witness  to  whom  Judge  White  refers  you.  I  have 
no  acquaintance  with  the  O'Brien  family.  And  it  is  scarcely  possible 
that  I  should  have  entered  into  the  familiar  discourse  described  by  Judge 
White  with  a  perfect  stranger,  without  retaining  some  trace  on  my 
memory  of  the  man,  or  of  the  extraordinary  questioning  to  which  it 

20 


306  aiEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON     WHITE. 

would  seem  he  subjected  me.  If  I  had  been  interrogated  about  you,  by 
one  wliora  I  thought  entitled  to  take  such  liberty,  I  should  have  said  to 
him  that  I  esteemed  you,  from  your  votes  and  course  in  Congress,  .as  a 
friend  to  the  Administration;  that  in  regard  to  the  then  pending  election 
for  President,  you  were  the  avowed  friend  of  Judge  "White  for  President, 
but  willing  to  give  eifect  to  the  wishes  of  your  constituents,  if  they  pre- 
ferred Mr.  Van  Buren,  in  case  the  election  came  into  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives. 

It  is,  however,  superfluous  labor  to  contradict  the  fabrications  put  forth 
by  Judge  White  and  his  speech-makers,  who,  it  seems  from  your  note, 
are  repeating  the  stories  made  up  for  their  electioneering  harangues  in 
the  House  of  Eepresentatives.  The  public  know  how  to  estimate  their 
assertions.  If  it  Avere  worth  the  trouble,  there  is  not  one  of  their  nar- 
ratives with  which  they  have  connected  my  name,  so  far  as  I  have 
heard,  that  could  not  be  proven  as  mere  fiction  by  all  the  persons  whom 
they  represent  as  bearing  a  part  in  what  they  pretend  to  .describe. 

But  I  do  not  blame  these  subalterns.  Judge  White  himself,  in  his 
Knoxville  speech,  did  not  hesitate  to  lead  the  way  in  this  sort  of  traduc- 
tion. To  distinguish  his  own  purity,  and  claim  credit  for  disinterested 
moderation  in  declining  the  Vice  Presidency  (and  at  the  same  moment 
when  he  was  seeking  the  Presidency  itself,  and  electioneering  for  it  by 
boasting  of  liis  incomparable  modesty),  he  gave  the  people  of  Tennessee 
to  understand  that  I  had  attempted  to  purchase  his  support  of  Mr.  Van 
Buren  by  an  offer  of  the  Vice  Presidency  as  the  first  consideration,  with 
the  Presidency  itself  in  reversion.  There  never  was  a  grosser  libel  than 
this.  There  is  about  as  much  truth  in  it,  as  there  was  sincerity  in  that 
lame  apology  in  the  Judge's  letter  to  Mr.  Prior  Lea,  wherein  Judge  White 
pretends  he  was  desirous  to  prevent  my  election  to  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States,  and  send  my  bittei-est  enemy  to  that  body,  giving  him  a 
high  station  whence  to  scatter  calumnies  against  me,  merely  for  my  good 
— namely  to  advance  my  pretensions  to  the  Chief  Magistracy,  by  saving 
me  from  the  suspicions  of  accepting  the  senatorial  office  as  a  means  of 
electioneering  for  myself!  An  oflSce  which  he  lately  accepted  precisely 
mider  the  circumstances  which  subjected  him  to  the  identical  imputa- 
tion from  which  he  was  so  anxious  to  screen  me!  This,  and  many 
recent  developments  of  character,  show  that  Judge  White,  under  strong 
temptation,  has  a  lax  code  of  morals  for  himself;  and  his  remarkable 
readiness  to  invent  pretexts  to  cover  the  naked  and  palpable  selfish- 
ness of  his  late  tergiversations  and  multiplied  inconsistencies,  shows 
that  he  need  not  tax  the  invention  of  his  subordinate  instruments  for 
falsehoods  to  suit  his  exigencies.  Whether,  then,  he  has  fabricated  him- 
self the  improbable  story  to  which  you  refer,  in  addition  to  the  other 
shameful  imputations  witli  which  he  has  associated  my  name,  or  is  in- 
debted for  them  to  some  of  the  numerous  family  of  the  O'Briens,  is  matter 


HIS  RELATIONS  TO  GENERAL  JACKSON.         307 

of  bbt  little  moment  to  me.    They  all  now  stand  in  equal  credit  with  the 
country. 

I  am,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

Andrew  Jackson. 
The  Hon.  Adam  Huntsman,  in  Congress, 

P.  S.  As  Judge  White  has  been  the  subject  of  your  letter  and  this 
reply  to  it,  you  will  please  show  him  this  my  answer. 

A.  J. 


'Copy  of  a  letter  to  the  Eon.  Adam  Huntsman,  from  the  Eon.  Eugh 

L.  White. 

Washington  Jan.  Wi,  1837. 
Dear  Sir  :  Herewith  I  return  the  correspondence  between  you  and  the 
President,  dated  the  1st  and  2d  instant,  which  you  handed  me  this  after- 
noon.    As  you  requested,  I  have  not  shown  it  to  any  person,  nor  have  I 
mentioned  to  any  one  that  I  have  seen  it. 

I  feel  called  on,  when  returning  it,  to  say  something  in  relation  to  its 
contents. 

In  the  President's  answer,  he  says  he  has  no  recollection  of  Mr.  O'Brien 
and  thinks  it  not  likely  he  would  have  been  catechised  by  an  entire 
stranger,  &c. 

I  never  said  that  Mr.  O'Brien  had  conversed  with,  or  asked  him  a 
question,  but  that  he  heard  him  make  the  statement  in  answer  to  ques- 
tions put  by  others  in  Jonesboro.  All  I  know  is,  that  Mr.  O'Brien  gave 
me  the  information.  He  is  a  respectable  man.  I  believe  what  he  told 
me  to  be  true ;  and  the  circumstance  that  the  President  does  not  recollect 
anything  on  the  subject  is  only  additional  proof  that  the  best  of  us  cannot 
always  recollect  what  we  have  said.  Our  colleague,  General  Carter,  was 
present,  and  heard  my  conversation  with  Mr.  O'Brien,  and  to  him  I  refer 
you  for  the  accuracy  of  my  statement. 

As  to  the  other  parts  of  the  President's  letter,  I  regret  to  find  the 
temper  in  which  it  is  written.  It  indulges  in  statements  and  suspicions 
not  only  erroneous,  but  unfounded  and  unjust. 

Everything  in  the  speech  stated  as  of  my  own  knowledge  was  trno 
and  everything  derived  from  the  information  of  others  I  then  believed' 
and  yet  believe,  to  be  true. 

I  hope  yon  will  not  deem  me  unreasonable,  when  I  ask  a  copy  of  this 
correspondence. 

I  do  not  complain  of  the  injunction  imposed,  not  to  show  it  to  any 
person;  but  if  you  have  allowed  others  to  see  it,  and  make  its  contents 
the  foundation  of  accusations  against  me,  I  would  tliink  I  was  unfairly 
treated,  and  that  you  ought  to  remove  that  injunction. 

Most  sincerly  and  truly  yours, 

Hu.  L.  WniTK. 


308  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

Copy  of  a  letter  from  JoTin  0''Brien,  Esq.  to  the  Hon.  W.  B., Carter. 

•         '  PuBLiEU  Iron  Works,  Jan.  l^th,  183T. 

Dear  Sie  :  Yours  of  the  5th  instant  was  received  on  yesterday  ev-en- 
ing,  requesting  me  to  state  the  particulars  respecting  an  expression  I 
heard  General  Jackson  make  while  in  Jonesboro.  On  the  evening  of  the 
day  of  General  Jackson's  arrival  in  Jonesboro,  I  accidentally  happened 
at  the  place,  and  after  night,  was  invited  by  the  Hon.  John  Blair,  to  walk 
with  him  to  Nathan  Gammon's,  Esq.,  to  see  the  President.  I  accom- 
panied him,  and  was  introduced  by  him  to  the  President.  Immediately 
after  my  introduction,  I  took  a  seat  but  a  short  distance  from  the  Presi- 
dent, near  Mr.  Donelson  and  G.  Gammon,  Esq.  I  was  so  near  the 
President,  that  I  could  distinctly  hear  every  word  he  said.  He  was 
asked  by  some  gentleman  in  the  room  (for  there  were  several  present), 
what  he  thought  of  several  of  the  Tennessee  delegation  in  Congress;  to 
all  of  which  questions  he  replied.  Amongst  the  rest  he  was  asked  what 
he  thought  of  Mr.  Huntsman.  He  replied:  "He  is  on  the  fence,  sir,  and 
I  do  not'  know  on  which  side  he  may  fall."  I  remained  in  the  room  a 
short  time  after  the  General  had  made  the  foregoing  expression,  and  left 
the  room  vrith  the  Hon.  John  Blair. 

Enclosed  is  a  certificate  from  under  the  hand  of  Christian  E.  Carriger, 
Esq.,  who  accompanied  the  Hon.  John  Blair  and  myself  from  Mr.  Blair's 
to  Mr.  Gammon's.  I  will  go  to  Jonesboro  this  evening,  and  endeavor  to 
obtain  the  statements  of  some  gentlemen  there,  who  were  present  at  the 
time,  which  I  will  enclose  to  you  so  soon  as  I  obtain  them. 

With  high  consideration,  I  remain  your  friend, 

John  O'Beien, 
Gen.  W.  B,  Carter. 


Certificate  of  Christian  E.  Carriger^  Esq. 

January  19, 183T. 

.  I  do  hereby  certify,  that  on  General  Jackson's  last  visit  to  Jonesboro, 
on  liis  way  to  the  Hermitage,^  at  the  request  of  the  Hon.  John  Blair,  I 
went  in  company  with  him  and  John  O'Brien,  Esq.,  to  see  the. General, 
at  Nathan  Gammon's,  Esq.  That  at  Mr.  Gammon's,  iii  presence  of  Mr. 
O'Brien  and  several  other  gentlemen,  I  heard  some  gentleman  ask  the 
General  several  questions  respecting  the  Tennessee  delegation;  among 
other  questions,  what  he  thought  of  the  Hon.  Adam  Huntsman  ?  "  He  is 
on  the  fence,  sir,  and  I  do  not  know  on  which  side  he  will  fall ;"  was  the 
General's  reply,  (as  near  as  I  can  remember)  verbatim. 

Given  under  my  hand, 

Christian  E.  Caerigee. 


HISKELATIONS   TO    GENERAL   JACKSON.  309 

Eeply  of  Judge  White  to  OeneralJacTcson.* 

TO  THE  FREEMEN  OF  TENNESSEE: 

FELLOW  CITIZENS :  A  recent  production,  over  the  name  of  the  late  Chief 
Magistrate  of  the  United  States,  now  going  the  rounds  in  our  newspapers, 
imposes  on  me  the  duty  of  addressing  you.  We  live  in  strange  times. 
At  peace  with  all  the  w^orld,  a  handftd  of  savages  excepted ;  a  few  months 
ago,  apparently  prosperous  to  an  extent  almost  unexampled,  with  funds 
in  the  treasury  so  far  beyond  the  economical  wants  of  the  federal  govern- 
ment, that  statesmen  were  perplexed  to  know  how  to  dispose  of  them. 
Now,  our  commerce  destroyed,  our  merchants  in  every  direction  ruined 
and  breaking ;  the  crops  of  our  planters  without  a  market,  and  they  in 
debt,  without  any  means  with  which  to  make  payment ;  specie  payments 
suspended  by  our  banks,  and  their  notes  depreciated,  and  the  government 
itself  placed  in  such  a  situation,  as  to  its  moneyed  concerns,  that  it  can- 
not move ;  hardly  a  dollar  can  be  collected  or  paid  without  a  violation 
of  our  acts  of  Congress.  What  has  caused  these  misfortunes,  is  a  ques- 
tion of  grave  and  solemn  import.  It  is  one,  in  relation  to  which,  every 
man  is  called  on  to  form  an  opinion,  and  a  free  expression  of  opinions 
sincerely  entertained,  may,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  lead  to  some  suitable  remedy. 

For  myself,  I  cannot  doubt  but  the  specie  circular,  as  it  is  called,  which 
issued  in  July  last,  and  the  mode  adopted  to  transfer  to  the  respective 
States  their  proportions  of  our  surplus  treasure,  were  the  immediate  causes. 

I  have  ever  believed  that  circular  less  justifiable  than  any  act  of  our 
federal  executive.  It  undertakes  to  legislate  for  the  people  of  the  United 
States  by  the  sole  power  of  the  President.  It  makes  distinctions  between 
different  classes  of  our  citizens,  which  I  doubt  whether  Congress,  with 
the  aid  of  the  President  would  have  the  power  to  make ;  and  I  feel  con- 
fident, if  they  had  the  power  they  dare  not  exercise  it. 

Independently  of  the  President  having  no  power  to  cause  such  an  order 
to  be  issued,  its  provisions  were  unwise,  unjust,  and  calculated  to  pro- 
duce the  very  state  of  things  which  now  exists.  From  the  time  I  first 
read  it,  I  have  ever  most  firmly  believed  the  true  reasons  which  gave  rise 
to  it  were  not  avowed  by  its  authors.  It  bears  date  in  July,  a  few  days 
after  the  rise  of  a  Congress  at  which  an  act  had  passed  directing  a  portion 
of  the  sui'plus  revenue  to  be  deposited  with  the  States.  This  act  was 
very  offensive  to  the  President,  although  he  gave  it  his  signature.  One 
object  then,  of  this  circular  was,  to  lessen  the  sales  of  the  public  lands, 
so  that  there  might  be  little  or  nothing  to  divide  on  the  first  day  of  Jan- 
uary and  afterwards. 

A  Presidential  election  was  then  pending  and  the  incumbent  was  using 
his  influence  in  favor  of  one  of  the  candidates,  and  it  was  believed  the 

♦From  the  KnoxviUe  Register  of  July  12, 1837. 


310  MEMOIE    OF    HUGH    LAWSON"    WHITE. 

permission  to  the  people  of  the  new  States  to  pay  for  their  lands  in  tank 
notes  till  after  the  Pi'esidential  election,  would  influence  their  votes  iu 
favor  of  his  candidate,  and  a  still  more  important  object  was,  to  produce 
such  a  run  upon  all  banks  as  would  compel  them  to  suspend  specie  pay- 
ment. Every  holder  of  a  bank  note  is  told  in  substance,  that  it  is  doubt- 
ful whether  his  note  is  good,  that  the  banks  had  overtraded  themselves 
and  would  probably  be  unable  to  pay  their  debts.  This  idea  is  advanced 
by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  in  whom  the  people  had  unbounded 
confidence,  and  who  from  his  ofiicial  station  had  a  right  to  Icnoio  the  funds 
and  condition  of  each  of  the  dei^osit  banks.  Nothing  could  have  been  ' 
better  calculated  to  produce  a  run  upon  the  banks  than  such  a  statement 
from  such  a  source.  In  addition  to  this  destruction  of  their  credit,  all 
those  Avho  held  notes  and  did  not  reside  in  the  State  where  they  might 
wish  to  purchase  lauds  must  necessarily  call  for  specie  from  the  banks, 
as  nothing  else  would  be  received  at  the  land  oflSces. 

This  attack  on  the  credit  of  t^ie  banks  and  the  runs  either  made  or 
expected,  compelled  them  not  only  to  withhold  the  usual  accommoda- 
tions from  merchants,  but  to  exact  payment  for  debts  already  contracted. 
Thus  merchants  must  probably  fail  first  and  then  the  banks  must  surely 
follow,  shortly  afterwards. 

But  if  the  circular  itself  was  not  sufficient  to  destroy  the  credit  of  the 
banks,  the  mode  proposed  for  transferring  the  funds  to  the  respective 
States  was  well  calculated  to  give  it  the  final  blow.  The  specie  was  to  be 
drawn  from  the  deposit  banks,  to  be  placed  in  the  State  treasury.  Could 
any  plan  have  been  devised  better  calculated  to  alarm  the  banks  and 
society  ?  Beside,  no  conceivable  benefit  could  result  to  the  States  from 
such  an  operation.  If  each  State  had  been  furnished  with  drafts  upon 
banks  in  proper  sections  of  the  Union,  upon  these  drafts  they  could  have 
received  their  moneys  at  home,  and  the  trade  and  commerce  of  the 
country  been  essentially  benefited,  without  incommoding  in  any  degree 
any  of  the  banks. 

I  have  no  doubt  the  banks  had  extended  their  discounts  too  far  in  many 
instances,  and  it  may  likewise  be  true  that  merchants  had  overtraded ; 
but  I  have  no  doubt  the  great  error  in  some  of  the  banks  consisted  in 
making  extravagant  loans,  to  companies  of  land  purchasers,  at  our  public 
sales,  and  of  Indian  reservations.  This  prevented  in  many  instances  the 
usual  accommodations  to  merchants,  and  enabled  the  friends  and  favorites 
of  the  Administration  to  monopolize  immense  bodies  of  our  most  valuable 
lands,  at  the  minimum  price.  No  attempt  that  we  know  of  was  made  to 
cJieclc  the  deposit  banks  in  this  course,  until  the  desired  purchases  Avere 
completed,  and  the  political  views  of  the  party  were  accomplished.  They 
were  lauded,  and  society  was  taught  to  believe  the  wise  measures  of  the 
executive  would  presently  give  us  all  wealth  to  our  hearts'  content.  Thus 
then  the  banks  were  first  encouraged  in  their  imprudence,  and  when  the 


HIS    RELATIONS   TO   GENERAL   JACKSON.  311 

proper  time  arrived,  those  who  had  used  them  for  pecuniary  and  election- 
eering purposes,  caused  the  treasury  order  to  be  issued,  and  followed  up 
by  the^vorse  than  useless  mode  of  transferring  the  public  moneys,  and  by 
these  means  have  caused  the  disasters  to  the  merchants,  and  tlie  suspen- 
sion of  specie  payments,  to  the  great  discredit  of  the  banks  and  loss  of 
every  portion  of  the  community. 

•  It  will  be  asked  why  I  believe  the  Administration  wished  to  compel  the 
banks  to  suspend  specie  payments. 

I  will  answer  the  question  in  all  sincerity ;  because  I  believe  General 
Jackson  now  wishes  a  ianh  of  the  United  States  founded  upon  the  moneys 
of  the  United  States,  and  attached  to  the  treasury  department. 

"We  all  know  that  in  more  than  one  of  his  messages  he  recommended 
such  a  bank,  and  I  know  that  in  1829  he  wished  Mr.  Grundy  elected  to 
the  Senate,  in  preference  to  Judge  W.  E.  Anderson,  because  he  believed 
Mr.  Grundy  could  better  aid  in  making  up  a  party  in  Congress  to  esta- 
blish such  a  bank. , 

His  object  when  he  came  into  the  Presidency  was  to  have  such  a  bank ; 
nothing  was  said  by  him  recommending  it  after  Mr.  McDuffie's  report. 
In  common  with  others,  I  believed  he  had  despaired  of  it  after  that  report, 
until  I  read  the  treasury  circular,  and  from  that  time  I  have  believed  it 
was  an  object  that  he  had  never  lost  sight  of,  and  that  he  and  his  advisers 
have  put  into  operation  a  series  of  measures,  disastrous  to  the  country 
at  large,  and  ruinous  to  many  individuals,  in  order  to  prepare  the  public 
mind  for  such  a  bank. 

The  President  has  repeatedly  said,  that  unless  the  successor  designated 
by  himself  was  elected,  the  great '  measures  of  his  Administration  would 
not  be  carried  out,  and  if  they  were  not  carried  out,  the  great  value  of  all 
he  had  done  would  be  lost. 

What  great  measure  is  yet  to  be  carried  out?  I  answer  the  mak- 
ing a  treasury  ianh.  How  was  the  pubhc  mind  to  be  prepared  for 
such  an  institution  ?  By  the  very  means  he  has  employed.  The  United 
States  Bank  must  first  be  put  down,  because  while  it  lasted  there  could 
be  no  use  for  a  treasury  bank,  and  in  the  second  place,  it  must  be  proved 
"by  actual  experiment,  that  the  State  banks  cannot  do  the  fiscal  business 
of  the  government,  and  give  society  a  sound  currency.  Now,  whenever 
the  banks  refuse  to  pay  in  specie  the  government  deposits,  and  decline 
paying  specie  generally,  what  is  the  argument  ?  It  is,  that  we  have  tried 
a  bank  of  the  United  States  by  incorpoi-ating  individuals,  and  find  that 
it  will  not  answer,  because  it  will  soon  have  so  much  power  that  it  will 
control  the  government  itself.  We  have  made  an  experiment  with  the 
State  banks,  and  find  they  cannot  do  our  fiscal  business,  nor  can  they 
give  us  a  sound  currency;  therefore,  there  is  no  alternative,  but  to  create 
a  bank  of  our  own,  upon  our  funds,  and  which  wiU  always  be  subject  to 
our  control. 


313  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LA^tSON'    WHITE'. 

Every  circumstance  which  is  now  transpiring,  connected  with  this 
subject,  confirms  me  in  the  opinion  which  I  have  expressed. 
-  1.  The  tenacity  with  which  any  deposit  with  the  States  is  resisted. 

2.  The  manner  in  which  the  illegal  treasury  circular  is  adhered  to, 
although  the  decisive  opinion  of  Congress  and  of  society  is  known  to  be 
opposed  to  it. 

3.  Mr.  Cambreleng's  letter  in  New  York,  in  which  he  is  opposed  to 
giving  the  banks  any  indulgence. 

4.  The  loyalists  in  this  State  and  others^  candidates  for  Congress,  are 
said  to  be  advocating  it. 

5.  The  Globe  has  ventured  to  broach  the  subject  likewise. 

6.  A  pamphlet,  purporting  to  be  written  in  Great  Britain,  which  is 
now  in  circulation,  recommending  such  a  bank. 

"While  the  people  at  large  are  lamenting  the  serious  misfortunes  which 
have  befallen  the  countryj  the  President  is,  as  I  believe,  felicitating  him- 
self that  the  time  is  rapidly  approaching,  Avhen  one  of  his  great,  unfinished 
measures,  is  to  be  accomplished  under  the  management  of  his  successor. 

In  all  this  he  may  be  very  honest ;  he  may  conscientiously  believe,  that 
our  highest  interests  will  be  pr6moted  by  it — ^that  we  can  be  secured  in 
a  sound  currency — have  our  fiscal  concerns  well  managad — and  above  all, 
that  the  great  democratic  party  will  thus  be  enabled  always  to  retain  the 
political  power  it  now  possesses.  Those  engaged  in  speculations  in  public 
lands,  who  are  debtors  of  the  banks,  must  be  delighted  with  the  present 
state  of  things.  Specie  payments  are  suspended ;  this  will  enable  the 
banks  to  give  them  longer  indulgence ;  the  notes  have  depreciated,  and 
will  continue  to  depreciate,  and  they  w^ill  presently  be  able  to  purchase, 
at  a  great  discount^  notes  enough  to  discharge  their  debts,  and  thus  realize 
the  speculations  which  they  anticipated. 

But  General  Jackson  says,  in  substance,  that  I  advised  the  removal  of 
the  deposits  from  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  and  that  my  only  com- 
plaint against  his  conduct  was,  that  the  removal  was  not  made  soon 
enough,  &c.  He  has  expressed  himself  too  loosely  upon  this  subject,  to 
give  to  the  public  a  correct  idea  of  the  part  I  took  in  this  matter. 

He  never  had  a  personal  conversation  with  me  on  the  subject  of  remov- 
ing the  deposits  from  the  Bank  of  the  United  States.  He  never  consulted 
me  by  letter,  or  otherwise,  but  once,  and  that  was  by  letter  bearing  date 
the  24:th  of  March,  1833.  In  answer  to  which  I  gave  him  my  opinion  in 
the  following  words,  under  date  of  April  11th,  1833  : 

"  To  this  inquiry  I  answer,  we  ought  not  only  to  do  that  which  is  for 
the  pubHc  interest,  but  we  should  do  it  under  circumstances  which  will 
enable  us  to  satisfy  the  people  whose  business  we  transact,  that  the  change 
was  necessary  to  promote  their  interest. 

"  When  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  failed  to  obey  the  directions  of 
the  government  in  paying  off  its  debt  and  negotiated  with  the  creditora 


HIS   KELATIONS   TO    GENERAL   JACKSON.  313 

for  indulgence,  I  think  the  deposits  onght  to  have  been  immediately 
withdrawn,  and  every  federal  officer  instructed  not  to  receive  any  of 
those  small  drafts  or  checks,  now  used  as  substitutes  of  five,  ten,  and 
twenty  dollar  notes.  Public  opinion  I  have  no  doubt  would  then  have 
sustained  the  executive  in  such  a  course ;  but  the  government  from 
motives  which  all  ought  to  approve,  wished  to  be  certain  of  the  insol- 
vency of  the  bank  before  it  withdrew  the  public  deposits,  therefore 
appointed  an  agent  to  examine  and  report  its  condition.  Tliat  report  is 
before  the  world,  and  is  as  flattering  as  the  bank  could  wish  as  to  its 
insolvency.  Since  then  the  matter  has  been  brought  to  the  notice  of 
Congress,  a  committee  has  been  created  by  the  House  of  Eepresentatives 
and  a  majority  of  that  committee  has  made  a  report  most  favorable  to 
the  bank.  The  minority  of  the  committee  has  also  submitted  its  view 
of  the  solvency  and  management  of  the  bank,,  in  such  terms  as,  if  it  stood 
alone,  would  create  a  well-founded  belief,  that  the  public  money  was 
unsafe  where  now  deposited.  But  the  question,  occurs,  what  opinion  will 
society  form  from  these  documents,  taking  them  altogether  ?  The  opi  nion 
of  the  confidential  agent  of  the  treasury,  and  that  of  a  majority  of  the 
committee  one  way,  and  that  of  the  minority  of  the  committee  the  other, 
places  the  question  of  the  solvency  of  the  bank  in  such  an  attitude  before 
the  public,  that  I  do  not  believe  the  executive  would  act  wisely  in  order- 
ing a  withdrawal  of  the  deposits  from  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  and 
placing  them  in  State  banks  at  this  time.  Public  opinion  will,  in  my 
judgment,  best  sustain  the  executive  in  permitting  them  to  remain  with, 
the  Bank  of  the  United  States  until  its  charter  expires,  or  some  future 
development  shall  show  that  tlie  bank  is  so  managing  its  concerns  as  to 
make  it  necessary  to  the  public  interest  that  the  public  money  should  be 
withdrawn  from  the  power  and  control  of  the  bank." 

During  the  session  of  Congress  next  succeeding  the  removal,  upon  a 
question  whether  a  bill  might  be  introduced  to  prolong  the  charter  of 
the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  I  took  occasion  to  express  my  opinions  as 
to  the  power  of  the  President  to  cause  the  removal,  and  against  the  restor- 
ation of  the  deposits  to  the  bank;  but  as  to  the  wisdom  or  policy' of  the 
removal  at  the  time  it  took  place,  the  preceding  autumn,  I  exi)licitly 
stated  that,  as  a  question  upon  which  the  best  friends  of  the  President 
might  well  differ  in  opinion. 

I  was  then,  as  I  ever  had  been,  and  yet  am,  of  opinion  that  Congress 
had  no  power  to  grant  the  charter,  or  to  renew  it,  and  that  if  they  pos- 
sessed the  power  it  would  be  bad  policy  to  exercise  it,  and  as  the  deposits 
had  been  removed,  and  constituted  a  fund  upon  which  State  banks  were 
doing  business,  that  it  would  be  unwise  to  restore  them  to  a  bank,  the 
charter  of  which  must  soon, expire,  and  which  I  did  not  believe  ought 
ever  to  be  renewed. 

These  were  my  opinions,  freely  expressed  and  acted  on.    They  may 


314  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

have  been  erroneous,  but  were  honestly  entertained,  and  if  the  President 
intends  to  communicate- to  the  public  the  idea  that  I  ever  gave  any  other 
opinion,  or  advice,  as  to  the  propriety  'of  the  removal,  than  those  I  have 
now  adverted  to,  he  is  doing  himself,  as  well  as  me,  injustice,  because  he 
is  communicating  to  the  public  information  which  is  not  in  conformity 
with  the  fact. 

At  the  time  the  deposits  were  removed,  before  that  time,  and  ever 
since,  I  have  been  of  opinion  the  fiscal  concerns  of  the  government  could 
be  managed  through  the  agency  of  State  banks,  and  that  they  could  at 
the  same  time  furnish  the  country  a  sound  currency,  and  I  had  the  most 
unbounded  confidence  in  the  integrity  of  the  Chief  Magistrate,  and 
believed  he  would  cause  a  feir  experiment  to  be  made.  Had  I  then  fore- 
seen what  I  now  believe  to  be  true,  that  the  real  design  was  to  obtain  a 
control  over  the  public  moneys,  that  they  and  the  State  banks  might  be 
used  for  electioneering  purposes,  and  as  a  means  by  which  favorites  could 
monopolize  our  public  lands,  and  that  then  the  banks  were  to  be  com- 
pelled to  suspend  specie  payments  to  prepare  the  public  mind  for  a  trea- 
sury bank,  such  a  course  for  such  purposes  could  have  had  no  countenance 
from  me. 

I  consider  the  experiment  which  has  been  made  with  the  State  banks 
an  experiment  to  ascertain  whether  our  public  deposits  will  enable  an 
executive- to  obtain  so  much  control  over  the  State  banks  as  to  enable  him 
to  induce  them  to  overtrade  themselves,  and  after  the  political  and  pecuni- 
ary purposes  of  himself  and  friends  have  been  accomplished,  then  to 
compel  them  to  suspend  specie  payments,  and  that  that  experiment  has 
ieen  successful. 

It  is  in  vain  to  expect  benefits  to  society  fi'om  this  or  that  system  of 
laws,  upon  any  subject,  unless  the  system  is  to  be  carried  into  effect  by 
men  of  integrity  and  capacity.  The  best  system  which  can  be  devised 
by  the  wisdom  of  man  will  terminate  in  ruin  and  distress  to  society,  if 
its  administration  is  placed  in  the  hands  of  dishonest  and  incompetent  men. 
No  man  can  shut  his  eyes  so  close  as  not  to  see  that  many  of  our  oflSces 
have  been  filled  during  the  late  Administration  with  the  very  worst 
material  the  country  furnished ;  and  this  is  the  inevitable  effect  of  party 
excess.  The  great  democratic  party  must  be  kept  up,  and  how  ?  By  the 
Administration  making  a  democrat  whenever  one  becomes  necessary  to 
control  an  election,  and  this  is  speedily  done  by  taking  a  rancorous  old 
federalist  or  monarchist,  getting  him  to  promise  allegiance  to  the  party,  for 
which  he  must  be  given,  or  promised,  an  oflice  for  which  he  is  unfit,  or 
favored  with  the  purchase  of  public  land,  or  an  Indian  reservation ;  he 
then  becomes  ipso  facto  a  democrat,  and  is  sent  forth  "  to  shoot  as  a 
deserter  "  any  honest  man  Avho  does  not  choose,  to  every  extent,  to  give 
up  his  principles  and  become  associated  with  a  party,  which  has  no  fixed 
principles,  save  the  one  "  that  to  the  victors  lelong  the  spoils.'''' 


HIS    RELATIONS   TO   GENERAL   JACKSOK.  315 

I  have  felt  it  my  duty  to  make  these  remarks  to  prevent,  if  possible, 
my  constituents  from  being  incautiously  led  into  a  trap,  wliich  I  think 
has  been  set  for  the  people  of  the  United  States ;  I  mean  the  support  of  a 
treasury  ianJc,  Should  such  an  one  be  established,  and  placed  as  it  must 
be,  under  tlie  control  of  the  federal  executive,  the  power  thus  conferred, 
when  added  to  that  already  possessed,  will  give  us  to  -every  substantial 
purpose,  as  complete  a  monarchy  as  exists  anywhere,  and  one  which  will 
equal,  if  it  does  not  excel,  in  its  means  of  corruption,  any  government 
known  to  the  civilized  world. 

According  to  what  we  see  in  the  public  prints,  Congress  is  to  convene 
on  the  first  Monday  in  September  next,  for  what  purpose  we  are  not  told, 
but  all  presume,  to  aid  in  some  plan  to  relieve  the  country  and  the  govern- 
ment from  the  existing  embarrassments.  Should  it  be  my  fortune  to 
make  one  of  that  honorabe  body,  I  will  most  heartily  concur  in  any 
measure  which  may  conform  to  the  Constitution  and  be  calculated  to  pro- 
mote the  welfare  of  the  country ;  but  I  use  this  occasion  to  say,  explicitly, 
that  I  will  be  asked  in  vain,  as  now  advised,  to  concur  in  the  establish- 
ment of  a  treasury  lant.,  because  I  believe  it  would  destroy  the  last  hope, 
that  your  children  and  mine  could  enjoy  that  liberty  which  is  their  birth- 
right. 

I  now  proceed  to  make  some  remarks  on  the  comments  General  Jackson 
has  seen  fit  to  make  on  my  deposition  before  the  committee  of  investiga- 
tion, of  which  Mr.  "Wise  is  the  chairman : 

In  the  card  which  preceded,  by  several  weeks,  the  extensive  commen- 
tary, we  had  a  foretaste  of  what  might  be  expected. 

It  commenced  with  a  statement  that  his  (the  General's)  attention  had  a 
few  days  before  been,  called  by  a  friend  to  my  deposition.  As  much  as 
to  say  in  plain  language,  that  until  his  attention  was  thus  called  to  it,  he 
was  ignorant  of  its  contents. 

This  statement  is  not  such  an  one  as  ought  to  have  been  expected  from 
so  distinguished  a  man.  In  Washington  it  was  repeatedly  said,  and  I 
have  no  doubt  truly,  that  some  of  the  members  of  that  committee  daily 
submitted  to  the  labor  of  making  a  copy  of  whatever  was  deposed  to, 
and  furnished  the  President  with  it,  before  he  retired  to  take  his  night's 
repose.  When  the  circumstances  under  which  I  was  called  before  that 
committee,  what  occurred  before  I  was  sworn,  and  the  President's  letter 
to  the  committee,  are  considered,  it  is  hardly  within  the  range  of  pi'oba- 
bility  that  he  should  be  indifferent  to  the  matter  which  the  deposition 
contains  as  not  to  have  immediately  procured  a  copy  of  it.  Indeed  the 
dates  of  the  very  certificates  he  publishes  to  counteract  its  contents,  and 
what  is  stated  in  that  from  Mr.  Randolph,  prove  that  he  was  familiar  with 
it  long  prior  to  the  time  indicated  in  his  publication.  His  real  object,  no 
doubt,  was  to  so  time  his  publication,  as  to  have  the  most  efiect  upon  our 
approaching  elections ;  some  apology  for  delaj'^  was  necessary,  and  the  one 


316  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

made  is,  as  I  think,  not  consistent  with  the  high  character  a  retired  Presi- 
dent ought  ever  to  maintain. 

His  next  object  seems  to  be,  to  show  that  I  acted  incorrectly  in  saying 
anything  on  the  subject  of  privilege,  and  then  submitting  to  be  sworn  as 
a  witness. 

In  endeavoring  to  do  this,  his  advice,  his  quotations,  and  his  statements 
are  so  lengthy,  that  it  is  with  some  difficulty  we  can  keep  pace  with  him. 
It  may  be  that  I  erred  in  suffering  myself  to  be  sworn  as  a  witness  ;  but 
as  I  had  to  act  according  to  my  0"\vn  feeble  judgment  without  the  benefit 
of  his  advice,  I  took  that  course  which  I  believed  to  be  the  most  correct. 
The  investigation  of  the  committee  had  developed  some  facts  not  pleas- 
ant to  those  concerned ;  if  a  fair  examination  was,  persisted  inj  farther 
disclosures  would  add  to  the  unpleasantness  of  their  situation.  To  avoid 
this,  I  have  no  doubt,  the  expedient-  was  resorted  to,  of  having  several 
members  of  Congress,  myself  among  the  number,  summoned  as  witnesses. 
I  was  not  summoned  at  the  instance  of  any  one  who  wished  to  pursue 
the  investigation  to  ascertain  whether  frauds  had  been  committed  or  not. 
The  application  for  the  summons  was  made  by  Mr.  Mann,  of  New  York, 
and  it  was  distinctly  understood  that  he  made  this  application  at  the 
instance  of  the  President.  The  committee  had  no  right  to  issue  any  such 
subpoena  for  me,  and  this  must  have  been  well  known  to  gentlemen  as 
well  informed  as  the  President,  and  the  majority  of  the  committee,  and 
I  had  no  doubt,  they  expected  and  hoped  that  I  would  disobey  the  subpoena 
and  refuse  to  be  sworn ;  then  the  cry  would  have  been  raised  that  the 
charges  were  all  groundless ;  I  knew  it,  and  had  refused  to  testify ;  but 
all  these  calculations  were  defeated  when  I  voluntarily  appeared,  protested 
against  the  legality  of  the  proceedings  and  showed  a  willingness  to  be 
sworn,  and  at  the  same  time  distinctly  stated  that  I  understood  I  was 
summoned  at  the  instance  of  the  then  President  and  his  successor^  and 
that  if  sworn  must  tell  what  I  knew,  confidential  or  otherwise.  Mr. 
Mann  was  then  present,  did  not  contradict  one  word  that  I  said,  and  it 
was  evident  the  party  was  brought  to  a  pause.  After  some  time  I  was 
told  by  the  committee  I  could  then  retire,  and  when  they  wanted  me  I 
should  be  notified.  This  gave  rise  to  the  President's  letter  to  the  com- 
mittee, which  has  been  pubhshed,  and  it  must  be  seen  he  had  so  entangled 
himself  he  could  take  no  other  course  but  that  which  his  letter  indicated. 
I  was  afterwards  notified  to  attend,  did  so  and  made  the  deposition  of 
which  the  President  complains. 

In  all  this  it  appears  to  me  I  was  right.  I  had  stated  nothing  either  in 
the  Senate  or  elsewhere,  which  I  did  not  either  know  or  believe  to  be  true. 
On  my  own  account,  I  had  nothing  to  conceal — and,  if  those  who  had 
made  confidential  communications  would  have  me  sworn,  what  must  I 
do?  Nothing  but  that  which  I  did  do,  tell  the  truth  and  nothing  but 
the  truth. 


HIS  RELATIONS  TO  GENERAL  JACKSON.  317 

He  next  proceeds  to  that  part  of  the  deposition  relative  to  the  creation 
of  the  office  of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  and  the  appointment  of 
Mr.  Herring. 

The  deposition  affirms  that  the  Secretary  of  "War  induced  me  to  intro- 
duce the  bill  and  have  it  passed,  upon  a  representation  that  Mr.  Herring, 
then  at  the  head  of  the  Indian  bureau,  with  a  salary  of  sixteen  hundred  dol- 
lars, was  So  illy  qualified  for  the  office,  that  the  public  interest  was  hkely 
to  suffer — and  that  after  the  law  had  passed,  this  same  individual  was 
appointed  to  the  new  office  with  the  salary  of  three  thousand  dollars, 
and  that  he  was  really  not  qualified,  and  that  the  public  interest  has 
suffered,  and  then  offers  as  matter  of  excuse  for  the  secretary,  that  he 
was  probably  induced  to  acquiesce  in  this  appointment,  by  others  for 
electioneering  purposes,  &c.  Now,  what  material  part  of  this  statement 
is  contradicted  ?  Not  one  word  of  it,  by  either  the  President,  or  any  of 
his  witnesses. 

No  man  has  said,  or  can  with  truth  say,  the  secretary  did  not  represent 
him  as  incompetent.     Nor  has  any  one  pretended  he  was  competent. 

Why  did  not  Major  Donelson  or  Mr.  Harris  testify  to  one  or  both 
these  points?  Mr.  Harris  Jcnotcs  he  loas  incompetent^  and  that  in  conse- 
quence of  it,  the  public  interest  has  suffered,  and  if  asked,  cannot  say 
otherwise. 

In  what  situation  then  does  the  President's  comments  and  testimony 
place  his  secretary  ?  Why,  in  the  situation  of  a  man  who  has  practised 
a  gross  fraud  upon  Congress  to  obtain  the  creation  of  a  new  office,  and 
increased  salary  for  Mr.  Herring,  and  had  made  the  two  chairmen  of  the 
committees  on  Indian  affairs  his  dupes  to  carrry  such  unworthy  views 
into  effect. 

I  did  not  believe  the  secretary  capable  of  such  conduct,  nor  do  I  now 
think  so.  I  made  such  apology  for  him  as  I  believed  to  be  true,  and  in 
that  belief  am  not  in  the  least  shaken. 

If  the  Indian  department  was  intended  to  be  used  for  electioneering 
purposes,  an  incompetent  man  of  all  others  was  best  suited  for  the  office. 

It  appears  to  be  thought  as  Mr.  H,  was  a  Clintonian  in  New  York  he 
must  have  been  an  enemy  to  Mr.  Yan  Buren's  election  as  President. 
Strange  conclusion.  Clinton  is  dead,  and  since  his  death  Mr.  Van  Buren 
is  himself  his  friend,  and  pronounced  to  his  colleagues  in  Congress  a 
high-wrought  eulogy  upon  his  worth  and  character. 

Mr.  Herring  in  his  manners  and  deportment  is  a  gentleman ;  I  never 
have  heard  his  integrity  questioned,  and  regret  that  I  have  been  com- 
pelled to  speak  of  him,  as  I  have  done ;  but  truth  is  truth,  and  if  any  one 
can  conscientiously  say  his  appointment,  under  the  circumstances,  "  was 
with  a  single  eye  to  the  public  interest,"  then  I  cau  only  say  I  entertain 
a  very  different  opinion. 

The  President  states  that  after  the  law  passed  he  had  intended  to 


318  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE.' 

nominate  another  individual  for  the  office,  had  made  out  the  nomination, 
and  was  prevailed  on  by  his  secretary  not  to  send  it  to  the  Senate,  and 
that  in  conversation,  with  me  he  had  told  me  so. 

To  this  statement,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  any  communication  of  such  a 
fact  to  me,  I  can  only  say  the  Pi'esident  is  undoubtedly  mistaken.  Neither 
at  the  time  spohen  ofhy  him^  nor  at  any  other  time.,  did  he  ever  communi- 
cate any  such  fact,  nor  did  I  ever  hear  of  it  until  I  read  his  publication. 

In  time  past  when  the  President  has  made  statements  of  facts,  which 
I  knew  or  believed  to  be  ert-oneous,  I  was  ready  to  find  an  apology  for 
them  in  what  J  supposed  his  decayed  memory ;  but  in  this  publication  his 
statements  of  some  facts  and  contradiction  of  others  are  so  extraordinary 
that  I  must  leave  it  to  others  to  find  out  the  cause.  I  hope  it  will  not  be 
considered  as  disrespectful  when  I  add,  there  is  reason  to  believe  the  loss 
of  memory  is  not  the  only  mental  loss  he  has  sustained  within  the  last 
few  years. 

The  attempt  to  get  clear  of  the  effects  which  he  fears  may  be  produced 
by  that  part  of  the  deposition  relative  to  the  dissolution  of  the  first 
cabinet  in  1831,  is  both  in  the  matter  and  manner  of  it  well  calculated  to 
mortify  every  sincere  friend  he  ever  had.  It  discloses  the  want  of  memory 
and  mind.,  to  an  extent  of  which  I  was  not  aware.  Fornierly,  although 
his  style  was  rough  and  generally  not  v^ry  good  English,  yet  it  was  ner- 
vous and  perspicuous.  In  this  effort  he  appears  bewildered,  and  to  have 
lost  all  distinct  recollection  of  what  occurred  in  the  first  years  of  his  own 
Administration.  It  is  confused  as  to<the  dates  of  different  facts  and  trans- 
actions, and  huddles  together  a  confused  mass  of  matter,  much  of  which 
can  have  no  bearing  on  the  subject. 

The  deposition  affirms,  that  when  the  cabinet  was  dissolved, -the  Presi- 
dent had  made  up  his  mind  that  Mr.  Van  Buren  should  succeed  him^- 
that  he  wished  to  get  clear  of  the  old  cabinet,  and  create  a  new  one  that 
would  be  a  unit  towards  accomplishing  that  object — that  he  did  not  wish 
to  lose  sight  of  Major  Eaton's  services,  and  therefore  desired  me  to  be 
Secretary  of  War,  and  Major  Eaton  to  succeed  me  in  the  Senate,  &c. 

Now,  this  is  all  true,  before  God,  as  I  religiously  believe,  and  General 
Jackson  can  never  forget  that  I  know  it,  in  a  mode  which  ought  to  leave 
no  doubt  on  my  mind ;  and  he  certainly  cannot  have  forgotten  that  he 
was  told  by  me,  that  if  even  my  seat  in  the  Senate  were  vacant,  it  would 
be  very  difficult'to  procure  Major  Eaton's  election,  on  account  of  some  of 
his  votes  while  he  had  been  a  member  of  that  body.  He  now  states,  that 
at  that  time  Mr.  Van  Buren  had  not  been  thought  of  as  his  successor. 
He  is  entirely  in  error,  and  can  perhaps  correct  himself,  if  he  will  recur 
to  Mr.  Van  Buren's  letter  of  resignation.,  and  other  written  evidence^ 
which  either  is,  or  ought  to  be.,  in  his  own  possession  at  this  time. 

The  old  cabinet  was  composed  of  Messrs.  Van  Buren,  Eaton,  Barry, 
Bei'rien,  Branch,  and  Ingham.     The  three  first  were  friendly  to  Mr.  Van 


HIS  RELATIONS  TO  GENERAL  JACKSON.         319 

Bnren's  elevation,  the  three  last  were  supposed  not  to  be  so,  and  there- 
fore produced  a  Avaut  of  harmony.  The  real  desire  was  to  get  clear  of 
these  gentlemen.  It  was  supposed  that  if  the  two  first  resigned,  the  three 
last  would  follow  their  example,  and  supersede  the  necessity  of  their  dis- 
missal. The  experiment  was  made  and  failed,  and  the  President  was 
driven  to  their  dismissal,  although  he  admitted  their  duties  had  been  faith- 
fully performed. 

■  Now,  if  the  truth  were  not  as  I  assert,  why  was  not  Barry  dismissed 
also  ?  The  President  did  not  wish  to  lose  him,  and  if  dismissed  there 
was  no  chance  of  his  coming  in  from  Kentucky. 

Unfortunately  for  the  President,  but  fortunately  for  the  development 
of  truth,  he  has  gone  into  some  of  the  secret  history  of  the  early  part  of  his 
Administration;  and  among  other  things,  states,  that  he  had  reduced  to 
writing  the  principles  upon  which  his  Administration  should  be  conducted 
— and  one  of  these  was,  that  no  member  of  his  cabinet  should  be. a  candidate 
to  tucceed  Mm  ;  that  this  paper  was  shoion  to  me,  and  I  approved  of  it,  <&c. 

Now,  is  not  this  adinission  proof  as  clear  "as  evidence  fi-om  Holy 
Writ,"  that  my  statement  is  correct?  Mr.  Van  Buren,  from  March  1829, 
to  1831,  was  a  member  of  the  cabinet;  then  it  was  determined  that  he 
should  be  the  candidate  to  succeed  General  Jackson,  and  as  itiwas  an 
article  in  the  Jacksonian  creed,  reduced  to  writing  and  shown  to  the 
members  of  the  party,  and  approved  of  by  them,  it  became  essential,  that 
he  should  cease  to  be  a  member  of  the  cabinet,  and  he  resigned  accord- 
ingly. 

If  General  Jackson's  mind  is  so  enfeebled  that  he  cannot  comprehend 
this,  I  feel  confident  the  public  will  understand  it  very  fully. 

These  ancient  reminiscences  give  rise  to  very  unpleasant  reflections. 

Some  former  Administrations  have  been  suspected  of  using  the  patron- 
age and  influence  of  the  federal  government  to  control  public  opinion  in 
the  Presidential  elections,  simply  because  members  of  the  cabinets  had 
been  candidates.  General  Jackson  and  his  whole  party  had  warred 
against  this  abuse,  had  represented  it  as  a  high  moral  and  political  oftence, 
and  when  he  came  into  office  he  came  in  solemnly  pledged  to  reform  this 
most  gross,  demoralizing,  and  alarming  abuse  of  power;  and  to  assure 
his  friends  he  would  carry  out  this  principle  in  practice,  his  creed  con- 
taining thisarticlevf^SiS  reduced  to  writing,  and  shown  to  myself  and  others, 
and  I  approved  of  it. 

True  as  gospel,  I  approved  it  then,  ever  since,  and  never  saw  the  neces- 
sity for  it  so  strongly  as  now. 

How  has  this  solemn  jjledge  been  kept?  To  the  ear  only,  but  to  the 
eense  most  shamefully,  openly  and  notoriously  violated. 

If  Mr.  Van  Buren  had  continued  in  the  cabinet,  and  been  a  candidate 
to  succeed  General  Jackson,  it  would  have  been  suspected  that  the 
patronage  tmd  influence  of  the  government  was  used  to  elect  him.     To 


320  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH   LAWSON    "WHITE. 

avoid  this  suspicion  he  must  resigrv,  and  then  openly  and  notoriotisly  tliia 
very  patronage  and  influence  is  brought  to  bear  -with  its  whole  force  upon 
public  opinion,  and  through  this  means  he  is  elected ;  and  I  and  all  otliers 
who  will  not  say  this  is  right,  and  in  conformity  with  the  Jackson  demo- 
cratic creed,  are  to  be  excommunicated,  and,  to  use  the  New  York  phrase- 
ology, "shot  as  deserters;"  that  is,  calumniated  out  of  all  the  character 
we  ever  had. 

But  the  General  says,  that  my  statement  of  his  using  the  appointing 
power  to  bring  in  Mr,  Van  Buren  is  unfounded,  because  after  that  time 
he  appointed  my  step-son,  at  my  instance,  to  an  office,  and  that  he  also 
appointed  many  other  of  my  friends.       '     •  . 

This  statement  is  calculated  to  deceive  if  unexplained.  It  is  true  that 
at  my  instance  he  appointed  Mr.  Frost  secretary  to  the  French  commis- 
sion, and  about  the  same  time  may  have  appointed  other  officers  upon 
my  recommendation,  and  I  have  the  gratification  of  believing  that  Mr. 
Frost  discharged  all  the  duties  pertaining  to  the  office  with  integrity  and 
ability. 

At  the  time  this  appointment  was  made  I  was  in  full  communion  with 
th,e  church,  as  the  President  supposed,  my  name  had  never  been  thought 
of  as  a  candidate,  so  far  as  I  was  informed ;  and  he  no  doubt  believed 
that  whenever  he  and  those  he  could  control  changed  their  creed,  I  would 
change  my  creed  likewise,  and  he  never  was  convinced  to  the  contrary, 
until  after  his  attempt  upon  me  through  Mr.  Bradley,  which  was  in  the 
autumn  of  1834. 

If  the  President  or  any  of  his  new  party  will  give  me  the  name  of  any 
avowed  friend  of  mine  having  been  appointed  to  office  after  it  loas  Tcnown 
I  Tiad  consented  that  my,  name  miglit  he  used  as  a  candidate,,  other  than 
some  one  whose  opinion  was  changed,  or  expected  to  be  changed,  by 
virtue  of  such  appointment,  I  will  thank  them  for  it. 

I  too  well  know  the  names  of  some,  who  professed  to  be  my  friends, 
having  received  offices  immediately  2}Teceding  the  election,  and  that  they 
changed  their  opinions  an^d  became  loyal  menibers  of  the  democratic  party,, 
whose  whole  creed  is  comprised  in  the  few  words,  "  to  the  motors  lelong 
the  spoils^ 

This  political  simony  is  the  very  thing  of  which  I  and  my  friends 
complain,  and  if  either  the  white  people  or  the  Indians,  or  both,  do  not 
in  the  end,  find  that  they  have  a  hard  bargain  of  some  of  these  "  patent 
democrats,"  I  shall  be  very  much  and  agreeably  disappointed. 

It  is  admitted  in  the  commentary  upon  the  deposition  that  a  conversa- 
tion was  held  with  me  in  relation  to  appointing  Mr.  Clayton  upon  ^ 
committee,' but  it  is  alleged  this  conversation. was  at  another  time  and 
related  to  some  other  committee. 

This  allegation  is  founded  in  error.  The  conversation  was  at  the  time, 
and  related  to  his  appointment  upon  the  committee,  mentioned  in  the 


HIS   RELATIONS   TO   GENERAL   JACKSON.  321 

deposition,  and  to  no  ofher^  and  the  substance  of  that  conversation  is  cor- 
rectly stated  in  the  deposition.  If  it  had  been  at  another  time,  and  in 
relation  to  another  committee,  why  was  not  the  other  time  and  commit- 
tee mentioned  ? 

It  is  asked  why  I  did  not  give  the  names  of  the  other  members  of  the 
committee  ?  The  answer  is  so  ready  that  I  am  surprised  it  should  be 
asked ;  it  is,  because  no  request  was  made  of  me  as  to  any  other  members 
of  the  Senate,  and  the  very  reason  I  placed  Mr.  Clayton  on  the  committee 
was,  that  it  is  in  conformity  with  parhamentary  law,  to  so  constitute  a 
committee  as  to  give  the  proposed  measure  the  fairest  chance  to  be  put  in 
such  a  shape  as  that  it  will  pass.  From  Mr.  Clayton's  talents,  his  liber- 
ality of  sentiment,  the  position  of  his  State  in  the  Union,  and  his  known 
influence  with  his  political  friends,  I  believed  his  course  would  have  a 
most  decided  influence  on  the  fate  of  the  bill,  and  in  this  belief  I  was  not 
disappointed.  I  very  naturally  concluded  the  President,  and  all  others  as 
attentive  as  he  was  to  what  was  constantly  passing,  would  form  the  like 
opinion. 

My  wish  was  to  give  upon  the  committee  a  fair  representation  of  every 
interest  and  party  in  the  Union,  under  the  hope  that  they  would  agree 
upon  some  compromise,  and  if  they  did,  and  the  law  should  pass,  it  would 
most  likely  be  acceptable  to  the  nation. 

Mr.  Clay  was  a  tariff  man,  had  introduced  the  bill,  was  from  the  West, 
and  was  placed  as  chairman  ;  Mr.  Webster  from  the  East,  a  tariff  man ; 
Mr.  Clayton  from  a  Middle  State,  and  friendly  to  the  tariff ;  and  these 
three  were  national  republicans ;  Mr.  Calhoun  from  the  South,  a  nuUifier 
and  anti-tariff ;  Mr.  Grundy  from  the  West,  a  nullifierand  anti-tariff  like- 
wise ;  Mr.  Dallas  from  a  Middle  State,  and  a  tariff  man,  and  Mr.  Rives 
from  a  Southern  State,  and  anti-tariff.  The  four  first  named  of  these  gen- 
tlemen were  opposed  to  the  Administration  and  the  three  last  friendly  to  it. 

The  bill  was  a  measure  proposed  by  an  opposition  member,  who  in  my 
judgment  was  entitled  to  be  chairman,  and  to  have  a  majority  who  would 
probable  be  inclined  to  favor  his  measure. 

Thus,  a  view  is  given  of  the  whole  committee,  their  politics  and  a 
summary  of  the  reasons  for  their  selection,  and  who  can  say  it  was 
wrong  ?  No  one  except  some  person  who  thinks  a  presiding  oflScer,  in 
party  times,  should  be  a  mere  party  hack,  who  would  disregard  the  parlia- 
mentary law,  the  interest  of  the  country,  and  pack  a  committee  who 
would  stifle  a  measure  lest  his  party  might  lose  some  influence  by  its 
adoption. 

The  venerable  ex-president  thinks  that  all  who  know  him  will  believe 
if  I  had  stated  to  him  what  the  deposition  imports,  he  would  have  given 
a  suitable  reply,  &c. 

My  own  opinion  is,  he  did  conduct,  in  the  only  manner  which  was  suit- 
able, and  it  ought  to  be  remembered  if  he  had  made  what  he  would  in- 

21 


322  MEMOIR    OF    HUOa    LAWSON    WHITE. 

einuate  would  have  been  a  suitable  reply,  it  could  have  received  a  suita- 
ble rejoinder. 

This  idle  vaunt  is  all  lost  upon  me.  There  is  no  man  -who  knows  the 
ex-president  has  more  confidence  in  his  chivalry  and  readiness  to  resent 
an  insult,  than  I  have — but  at  the  same  time,  the  history  of  his  life  will 
show,  that  whenever  he  intends  to  make  such  a  reply  as  might  provoke 
controversy,  he  has  always  timed  it  so  prudently,  that  there  should  be  a 
sufficient  number  of  persons  present  to  prevent  ill  temper  from  producing 
bad  consequences.  There  were  none  present  but  he  and  I ;  no  insult  was 
either  offered  or  intended ;  but  I  did  mean,  as  I  hope  I  always  shall,  to 
state  my  sentiments  precisely  as  they  were,  without  stopping  to  consider 
whether  they  would  be  acceptable  or  not. 

The  statement  in  the  deposition  relative  to  Mr.  Stevenson,  it  is  said,  is 
a  fabrication.  This  is  a  very  simple  mode  of  getting  clear  of  an  un- 
pleasant point.  The  Greneral  is  mistaken,  the  facts  occurred  as  detailed, 
and  the  gentleman  who  was  the  bearer  of  the  message,  must  have  strange 
and  unpleasant  sensations,  when  he  reads  the  charge  made  by  the  gen- 
eral, that  the  story  is  a  fabrication.  He  may  make  new  friends  by  such 
charges,  but  by  them,  he  must  stagger  the  faith  of  old  ones.  Had  the 
committee  asked  the  name  of  the  gentleman,  I  should  have  felt  bound  to 
have  given  it,  and  he  could  have  been  examined,  but  they  did  not,  and  I 
am  sure  the  General  can  have  no  need  of  the  name,  as  he  must  well  re- 
member it,  and  far  be  it  from  me  uselessly  to  drag  any  individual  before 
the  public. 

The  General  next  proceeds  to  controvert  the  statements  made  by  Mr. 
Bradley  in  his  letter,  a  copy  of  which  was  attached  to  my  deposition. 

That  Mr.  Bradley's  statement  is  strictly  true,  I  have  no  more  doubt 
than  I  would  have  had,  if  I  had  been  present  and  heard  the  conversation, 
between  him  and  the  President,  and  I  do  not  believe,  among  the  whole 
circle  of  his  numerous  acquaintances,  one  man  can  be  found  who,  in  his 
heart,  believes  him  capable  of  making  such  a  statement,  if  it  were  not 
strictly  true.  The  General  has,  at  least,  brought  nothing  to  counteract  it, 
but  the  statements  of  his  two  travelling  companions  :  and  according  to 
their  own  account  of  the  matter  the  whole  conversation  and  propositions 
might  have  been  repeated  ten  times  over,  while  Mr,  Bradley  and  the 
President  were  together,  and  those  two  gentlemen  not  have  heard  one 
word  of  it. 

The  relation  in  which  Mr.  Bradley  stood  to  me,  our  known  intimacy, 
the  part  he  has  acted  in  the  legislature  of  1833,  at  my  instance,  in  i-ela- 
tion  to  my  nomination,  his  detailing  to  several  gentlemen,  whose  names 
are  given  iy  him,  this  very  conversation  with  the  President,  immediately 
after  it  took  place,  the  support  it  derives  from  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Pey- 
ton and  Col.  Standifer,  place  tlie  statement  beyond  the  reach  of  doubt  in 
any  mind  desirous  to  ascertain  truth. 


HIS   RELATIONS   TO    GENERAL   JACKSON.  323 

The  fact,  no  doubt,  is,  that  the  General  has  detei-mined  that  in  his  biog- 
raphy his  character  shall  appear  to  posterity,  to  liave  been  a  perfect  one — 
he  thinks  this  proposition^  and  several  other  disclosures  which  have  been 
made,  will  not  well  bear  examination,  when  the  heat  of  the  moment 
shall  have  passed  away,  and  wishes  to  get  clear  of  the  effects  to  be  pro- 
duced by  them :  Let  me  assure  him  he  will  never  mend  the  matter  by  Ms 
fiat  contradictions  of  every  man^  who  does  not  testify  to  suit  his  wishes. 
His  biographer,  if  he  be  honest,  in  enumerating  the  many  excellent  and 
striking  traits  in  his  character,  will  not  put  it  down,  that  in  his  latter 
days^  he  was  a  correct  narrator  of  matters  of  fact. 

He  next  passes  to  the  statement  respecting  Mr.  Huntsman,  and  produces 
a  number  of  certificates  to  disprove  the  statement  made  by  Col.  O'Brien 
and  Mr.  Carriger.  With  an  enlightened  public,  such  certificates  can  have 
no  effect.  O'Brien  and  Carriger  are  men  of  excellent  character,  could 
have  no  inducement  to  fabricate  such  a  statement ;  they  positively 
assert,  they  did  hear  the  President  make  the.  statement  respecting  Mr. 
Huntsman ;  his  certifiers  only  say,  that  they  did  not  hear  it.  Had  he 
obtained  an  hundred  such  certficates,  the  facts  would  still  remain 
proved  to  le  true. 

But  on  this  part  of  the  subject,  the  ex-president  is  peculiarly  unfortu- 
nate ;  he  has  taken  some  pains  to  prove  that  he  did  not  reach  Jonesbo- 
rough  for  some  days  after  I  had  passed  that  place,  and  had  made  my 
speech,  in  which  I  should  have  stated,  that  he  had  said  Mr.  Huntsman 
was  on  the  fence,  &c.  He  therefore  argues,  that  it  is  absurd  to  suppose 
I  could  know  what  he  would  sajl^hree  days  after  I  had  made  that 
speech. 

Now,  the  facts  are,  that  I  was  in  Jonesborough  about  the  20th  July, 
1836 — dined  there,  and  made  a  very  short  speech,  in  which  Mr.  Hunts- 
man's name  was  never  meiitioned,  and  which  never  was  publish^.  The 
President  reached  that  place  about  the  22d  July,  and  then  made  the  state- 
ment respecting  Mr.  Huntsman.  Some  days  afterwards.  Col.  O'Brien 
came  to  Ivnoxville,  and  while  there,  repeated  to  me  what  the  President 
had  said,  and  on  thg  Slst  August^  1836,  I  made  a  speech  at  Knoxville, 
which  was  published ;  in  which  I  stated  the  liberty  which  had  been  taken 
with  Mr.  Huntsman's  name.  In  addressing  the  President,  Mr.  Hunts- 
man, in  his  letter,  hy  mistake^  says  my  speech  was  made  in  Jonesborough 
when  he  ought  to  have  said  Knoxville.  As  soon  as  Mr.  Huntsman  show- 
ed me  his  correspondence  with  the  President,  /  addressed  him  a  note, 
which  was  appended  to  my  deposition.  This  note  of  mine  to  Mr.  Hunts- 
man, no  doubt  was  perused,  when  the  other  parts  of  the  deposition  were 
under  examination,  and  I  leave  it  to  the  public  to  judge,  from  what  motive 
it  has  been  suppressed,  and  a  miserable  quibble  resorted  to,  which  I  must 
think,  could  not  be  creditable  to  a  pettifogger. 

It  must  be  painful  to  any  sincere  friend  of  the  ex-president,  to  see  the 


324  MEMOm    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

infatuation  nnder  wliich  he  seems  to  act,  owing,  no  doubt,  to  the  influ- 
ence artful  and  designing  men  have  obtained  over  him.  In  ahnost  every 
paragraph  he  vs^rites,  something  can  be  found  to  take  from  the  high  char- 
acter we  were  generally  disposed  to  ascribe  to  him.  Look  at  his  state- 
ment, even  now,  in  relation  to  Col.  Peyton's  conduct  relative  to  the  Cher- 
okee 'treaty.  He  set  out  in  the  first  instance,  by  asserting  that  Col.  Pey-  ^ 
ton  both  spohe  and  voted  against  an  appropriation  to  carry  it  into  effect. 
He  was  told  by  those  who  knew  better,  and  in  whom  he  ought  to  have 
confided,  that  he  was  misinformed,  that  Col.  Peyton  had  not  only  voted 
for,  but  had  made  an  excellent  speech  in  favor  of  the  appropriation.  He 
still  persisted  in  a  repetition  of  his  assertions,  and  even  now,  after  he, 
and  every  other  intelligent  man,  ought  to  be  possessed  of  the  most  au- 
thentic information,  proving  Ms  error ;  he  persists  in  asserting  to  the 
world  that  although  Mr.  Peyton  voted  for  the  appropriation,  he  had  made 
an  argument  against  it.  If  any  member  of  Congress  has  practised  upon 
his  credulity,  and  caused  him  to  be  the  retailer  of  such  a  glaring  mistaTce^ 
his  name  ought  to  be  known,  that  he  might  be  shunned  by  every  honor- 
able man. 

The  General  supposes  that  Mr.  "Wise  and  Colonel  Peyton,  who  were  my 
messmates  and  friends,  were  stimulated  and  advised  by  me  to  pursue  the 
course  wliich  they  did  in  Congress.  I  do  not  think  hard  of  this  suspicion, 
although  it  is  unfounded  in  fact,  and  both  these  gentlemen  know  it,  yet 
we  were  messmates  for  the  two  last  winters,  and  I  am  proud  to  believe  I 
had  their  most  sincere  friendship.  They  certainly  had  mine.  The  Gene- 
ral ought,  in  charity  to  the  country,  to  believe  that  there  are, yet  some 
few  men,  who  would  not  be  dictated  to  in  the  discharge  of  their  public 
duties,  by  either  him  or  myself.  Wise  and  Peyton  are  two  of  them ; 
talented,  well-informed,  honest,  bold,  and  men  who  fearlessly  discharged 
their  whole  duty,  in  defiance  of  all  the  calumnies  of  degraded  and  hired 
presses,  the  frowns  of  those  who  sat  in  high  places,  and  even  the  state- 
ments of  the  Chief  Magistrate  himself,  that  they  ought  to  be  "  Houston- 
ized." 

Their  names  will  be  hailed  as  the  danntless  friends  and  champions  of 
civil  liberty,  in  after  times,  when  the  political  course  of  some  of  their 
revilers  will  be  spoken  of,  as  the  severest  affliction  with  which  our 
beloved  country  has  ever  been  visited.  To  have  obtained  the  friendship 
of  such  men,  is  one  of  the  most  prized  achievements  of  my  whole  life. 
Their  course  relative  to  the  investigations  spoken  of,  was  the  dictate  of 
their  own  judgment. .  Their  country  ought  to  thank  them  for  it.  They 
have  elicited  enough  to  show  fuller  investigations  are  necessary,  that 
something  is  probably  wrong,  otherwise  so  many  obstructions  would  not 
have  been  thrown  in  the  way  of  ascertaining  truth  ;  and  when  we  shall 
have  a  Chief  Magistrate  who  will  lend  his  aid  to  a  lair  and  faithful  inves- 
tigation, I  firmly  believe  it  will  be  found  the  public  has  been  deceived  and 


HI9  RELATIONS  TO  GENERAL  JACKSON.         325 

injjired  to  an  extent  of  which  not  one  citizen  in  one  thousand  has  any 
conception. 

For  myself,  I  most  solemnly  declare,  I  have  not  either  in  the  Senate,  or 
elsewhere,  uttered  one  sentence  relative  to  the  supposed  abuses  which  I  did 
not  know  or  believe  to  be  true  ;  and  if  after  a  thorough  investigation,  by 
an  impartial,  not  a  packed  committee,  it  can  be  shown  that  my  suspi- 
cions are'  unfounded — I  would  consider  it  one  of  my  first  duties,  publicly 
to  acknowledge  my  error. 

The  General  at  the  close  of  his  address  intimates  that  he  has  attained  an 
advanced  age,  lias  infirm  health  and  desires  repose.  Wliy,  then,  the  state- 
ments before  leaving  Washingtoti,  that  he  intended  to  feast  this  summer 
upon  John  Bell  and  myself— that  Tennessee  should  stand  erect,  in  her 
politics,  in  less  than  six  months  ? 

As  I  believe,  he  has  come  home  determined  to  destroy  every  man  who 
dared  to  differ  with  him  in  opinon  as  to  his  successor,  and  that  is  tTie 
experiment  he  is  now  making.  If  it  be  his  will,  let  him  proceed.  Angry 
discussion  can  never  add  to  my  comfort,  it  may  to  his.  Our  tempera- 
ment and  aim  are,  as  I  believe,  a  httle  different,  I  endeavor  to  take  facts 
as  I  know  or  believe  them  to  exist,  and  meet  all  the  responsibiUty  they 
justly  throw  upon  me.  In  the  temper  he  now  is,  and  with  enfeebled 
faculties,  he  views  everything  as  an  enemy  that  stands  in  the  road  of  his 
ambition.  He  personifies  truth,  justice  and  everything  else  which 
obstructs  his  course,  and  attacks  them  with  all  that  gallantry,  with  which 
he  assails  political  or  personal  opponents.  He  has  determined  he  will 
die  having  the  character  of  a  great  man.  "While  my  highest  ambition  is 
to  die  conscious  that  I  deserve  the  reputation  of  an  honest  one. 

Your  fellow  citizen, 

Hugh  L.  Whitb. 

Jvly  12, 1837. 

Jackson,  July  \st,  1887. 
Dear  Sik  :  Upon  reading  Gen.  Jackson's  review  of  your  testimony,  I 
discovered  that  it  seems  to  be  considered  a  matter  of  importance  in 
regard  to  i^iQ  place  where  you  made  the  speech,  in  which  you  alluded  to 
the  statement  of  O'Brien.  I  had  not  your  speech  before  me  at  Washing- 
ton city,  when  I  addressed  Gen.  Jackson  upon  that  subject,  consequently 
I  had  to  depend  upon  recollection  only  as  to  the  place.  Since  I  came 
home  I  have  had  reference  to  your  speech,  and  find  it  was  delivered  at 
Knoxville,  instead  of  Jonesboro',  as  I  had  first  supposed,  when  my  letter 
to  the  General  was  written.  This  may  serve  to  con-ect  the  mistake  by 
me  in  this  particular.       < 

With  much  respect,  yours, 

-CT         -nr       T     -nr  -A-.  HlTNTSMAN. 

Hon.  Hu,  L,  White 


326  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

This  reply,  addressed  to  tlie  freemen  of  Tennessee,  was  reckoned  a 
satisfactory  disposal  of  the  charges  mentioned  in  it.  We  add  a  letter 
addressed  to  its  author  in  reference  to  it,  shortly  after  its  publication : 

*  *  *  » I  hope  to  meet  you  at  the  opening  of  the  special  session  of 
Congress;  but  I  cannot  without  violence  to  my  feelings  permit  the  occa- 
sion to  pass,  without  thanking  you  most  sincerely  for  your  masterly 
'  Address  to  the  Freemen  of  Tennessee.'  The  ex-president  has  at  no  time, 
nor  by  any  person,  been  so  severely  handled,  and  so  fully  exposed.  I 
think  he  will  be  advised  not  to  enter  the  field  of  controversy  again  with 
you,  hereafter.  *  *  *  You  have  done  no  more  than  justice  to  Mr. 
Clayton,  in  the  part  he  took  in  the  passage  of  the  Compromise  Bill.  I 
was  advised  from  day  to  day  of  every  important  proposition  that  was 
made  in  the  committee,  and  out  of  it;  and  I  say  without  hesitation,  that 
if  Mr.  Clayton  had  not  been  on  the  committee,  the  Compromise  Bill  would 
not  have  passed. 

"His  geographical  residence  gave  him  an  influence  over  both  the  North- 
ern and  the  Southern  members;  but  aside  from  tliis,  there  was  no  man,  in 
or  out  of  Congress,  within  my  knowledge,  so  well  calculated  to  conciliate 
the  contending  parties  and  interests  on  that  great  and  momentous  occa- 
sion, involving  the  fate  of  the  nation,  as  was  Mr.  Clayton. 

"  His  intelligence,  his  pure  intentions,  his  firmness,  his  urbane  manners, 
his  enlarged  national  views,  and  his  talents,  rarely  equalled,  qualified  him 
for  that  occasion.  All  the  faculties  of  his  mind  were  brought  into  exer- 
cise.; for  on  the  fate  of  the  compromise  depended,  in  his  judgment, 
the  fate  of  the  Union. 

*  *  *  "  Gen.  Jackson  did  not  wish  any  compromise  of  the  question. 
He  had  no  personal  objection  to  Mr.  Clayton,  as  a  member  of  the  com- 
mittee, and  in  sending  to  you,  he  was  influenced  by  a  third  person,  who 
was  hostile  to  Mr.  Clayton. 

"The  President  wished  an  opportunity  to  subdue  the  disaffected  in 
South  Carolina,  and  then  it  was  his  intention  to  propitiate  the  South  by 
reducing  the  Tariff  at  once.  The  bill  gained  strength  from  a  desire  to 
defeat  his  intentions  in  both  particulars  mentioned. 

Very  sincerely  and  respectfully  yours, 

E.  "Whittlesey." 


CHAPTER    XV. 


CANVASS    WITH    MR.    VAN    BUREN. 


The  estimate  placed  upon  Judge  White's  character  and  services  by 
his  State  and  his  country  is  evidenced  by  the  movement  in  favor  of 
his  election  to  the  Presidency  ;  for  he  did  not  become  a  candidate  vol- 
untarily. 

There  was  a  strong  wish  on  the  part  of  the  Tennessee  legislature, 
in  1833,  to  nominate  him  for  that  high  office,  but  he  withheld  hfs 
assent,  and  took  pains  to  discourage  the  movement,  and  even  went  so 
far  as  to  leave  it  in  charge  with  some  of  his  friends  in  that  body  to 
•  prevent  such  a  nomination,  if  attempted  in  his  absence.  After  his 
name  had  been  freely  used  in  other  parts  of  the  country,  the  meeting 
of  the  Tennessee  delegates  took  place  in  Washington  city.  This  was 
not  a  movement  exclusively  on  the  part  of  his  Tennessee  friends.  At 
the  time,  they  supposed,  and  had  a  right  to  believe,  that  be  could 
and  would  be  successfully  sustained,  and  that  his  Presidency  would  be 
the  inauguration  of  a  new  era  in  the  government.  At  the  time  they 
moved  in  his  behalf,  they  had  assurances  of  many,  not  to  say  of  all 
the  leading  Jackson  men,  in  every  Southern  State,  that  he  would  be 
supported.  Some  of  them  were  a  little  coy,  but  still  they  were  relied 
on,  and  encouraged  the  movement. 

Judge  White  was  known  to  have. been  opposed  to  all  the  leading 
measures  and  policy  of  the  whigs  of  the  Northern  States.  He  was 
the  friend  of  Gen.  Jackson,  had  supported  all  his  leading  measures, 
and  it  was  not  natural  to  suppose  that  he  would  detach  himself  from 
his  fortunes.  This  point  was  fully  discussed  between  them  and  his 
friends,  and  was  an  obstacle  to  their  support ;  but  it  was  conceded  by 
all  that  he  was  a  safe  man,  without  intrigue  or  management,  and  as 
his  course  had  always  been  dignified  and  liberal  towards  them,  they 
were  resolved  to  overlook  this  objection  to  him,  as  they  greatly  pre- 

327 


328  MEMOm    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

ferred  him  to  Mr.  Van  Buren.  The  main  reliance,  however,  was  upon 
the  South,  which  there  was  every  reason  to  calculate  would  be  united. 
A  few  States  at  the  North,  or  even  one  large  State  there  would  thus 
have  secured  his  election.  That  many  in  that  section  were  casting 
their  eyes  hopefully  toward  Judge  White  as  a  pure  and  available 
candidate,  may  be  inferred  from  various  letters  received  by  him 
about  this  period.  One  from  Condy  Raguet,  has  already  been 
given.  Below  follows  an  extract  from  another,  which  may  be  con- 
sidered at  its  date  (whatever  artificial  direction  may  afterwards  have 
been  given  to  popular  feeling),  to  have  represented  the  sentiments  of 
no  small  number  of  true  and  honest  men. 


DoBCBEBTER,  Apr.  27, 1884. 

"Will  you  permit  me  to  add,  sir,  that  your  opinions  and  sentiments  in 
reference  to  the  topics  of  these  pamphlets  [sent  with  the  letter]  will  be 
received  with  great  respect  by  all  who  are  interested  in  them ;  and  that  a 
personal  visit  to  Massachusetts  by  you, would  afford  the  highest  gratification 
to  some  of  her  citizens.  There  are  some,  if  not  many,  who  are  seeking 
for  an  individual  on  whom  to  bestow  their  suffrages,  whose  moral  and 
political  character  will  furnish  a  guaranty  of  the  perpetuation  of  what 
still  remains  of  the  patrimony  of  liberty,  and  who  will  firmly  resist  those 
intrigues  and  blandishments  -which  have  sometimes  seduced  those  we 
had  confided  in,  from  the  paths  of  Constitutional  RepubUcanism. 

With  great  respect,  &c., 

Samuel  "Whitcomb,  Jb. 

Of  Judge  White's  answer  to  this  letter — an  answer  containing  no 
reference  to  the  suggestions  just  given,  but  discussing  some  remarks 
on  Labor,  Capital  and  Society  in  a  former  portion  of  it~we  give  a  por- 
tion, valuable  for  clear  views  and  strong  good  sense. 

*  *  *  We  need  but  one  distinction  in  our  society,  and  that  ought 
never  to  be  lost  sight  of.  It  is  the  distinction  between  vice  and  virtue. 
If  a  man's  occupation  is  lawful,  useful  to  himself  and  his  fellow-men,  hon- 
estly and  diligently  followed,  he  ought  to  be  esteemed  respectable ;  every 
one  ought  to  be  pleased  with  his  prosperity  ;  and  the  road  to  trust  and 
honor  ought  always  be  open  to  him.  We  know,  however,  in  fact,  that 
those  who  own  capital  are  always  seeking  profitable  investments  for  it ; 
that  the  owners  have  acted,  and  will  act  in  concert,  and  that  by  doing 
80,  they  have  more  actual  influence  in  directing  all  the  operations  of  gov- 


CANVASS   WITH   MR.  VAN   BUKEN.  329 

ernment,  than  ten,  nay,  twenty  times  their  number,  without  spare  capital, 
and  compelled  to  pursue  some  honest  and  useful  occupation  for  a  living. 
This  is  not  just,  but  I  know  of  no  corrective  for  the  evil  so  likely  to  be 
effectual  as  by  all  means  to  enable  and  encourage  this  latter  class  to  bet- 
ter their  condition,  and  increase  their  information,  as  to  the  political 
concerns  of  the  country. 

In  our  government  there  is  a  thirst  for  office  that  is  alarming.  If  this 
originated  hi  a  wish  to  be  i;seful  to  the  country  generally,  or  in  the  wish 
to  gratify  personal  pride  by  occupying  places  of  distinction,  it  might  be 
well ;  but  there  is  reason  to  fear  that  in  too  many  instances  it  has  its 
origin  in  a  wish  to  make  the  operations  of  the  government  subservient  to 
the  pecuniary  interest  of  those  in  public  life,  their -friends  and  connec- 
tions. If  this  latter  be  the  motive,  a  mere  reduction  of  salary  would  not 
correct  the  evil,  because  an  unworthy  occupant  will  always  make  suffi- 
cient individual  gain,  by  sacrificing  whatever  public  property  or  interest 
may  be  committed  to  his  charge. 

Everything  which  tends  to  the  dissemination  of  useful  information 
among  that  class  of  individuals  whb  have  to  labor  for  a  living,  and  to 
make  it  convenient  for  them  to  act  in.  concert,  when  their  peculiar  inter- 
ests are  likely  to  be  assailed  or  sacrificed,  would  in  my  opinion  be  an  im- 
provement in  the  condition  of  our  society ;  and  in  no  instance  ought  any 
man  to  be  placed  in  office  who  is  not  honest,  capable  and  habitually  at- 
tentive to  his  hminess. 

Sound  morals,  as  well  as  sound  politics,  and  permanent  truth,  are  most 
eminently  in  point  at  the  present  day. 


Judare  White  signified  his  willinofness  to  be  nominated  for  the 
Presidency  on  the  20th  December,  1834.  The  Tennessee  delegation 
in  Congress  had  requested  his  decision  in  the  following  letter  : — 


Washington,  Dec.  29, 1834. 

DfiAB  Sir  : — ^You  cannot  be  unapprised  that  for  some  time  past  your 
name  has  been  frequently  mentioned  as  a  desirable  person  to  succeed  the 
present  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  United  States. 

Being  your  colleagues  in  Congress  since  the  commencement  of  the 
present  session,  we  have  been  repeatedly  asked  what  were  the  sentiments 
of  our  own  State  upon  that  subject,  and  more  frequently,  what  were 
your  own  wishes,  and  what  would  likely  to  be  your  course,  should  public 
opinion  seem  to  require  the  use  of  your  name  as  a  candidate,  and  fears 
are  often  expressed  that  you  would  not  give  your  consent. 

Upon  this  latter  point  we  are  at  some  loss  what  answer  to  give. 

It  is  our  wish  not  to  deceive  ourselves,  or  to  be  the  meant;  of  deceiving 


4 


330  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSOiST    WHITE. 

others.     We  will  therefore  esteem  it  a  favor  if  you  will  put  us  in  posses- 
sion of  your  wishes  and  determinations. 

Very  respectfully,  sir, 

"We  are  your  oot.  servts. 

Wm.  M.  Inge, 
•  Balie  Peyton, 

James  Standefee, 
John  Blair, 

W.    0.   DUNLAP, 

Saml.  Bunch, 

Jno.  Bell, 

David  Ceockett, 

John  B.  Foeeestee, 

Ltjke  Lea, 

David  W.  Dickenson. 

Judge  White's  answer  was  this,  dated  next  day  : 

Gentlemen: — ^Your  note  dated  yesterday  was  handed  me  a  few 
minutes  since. 

I  am  aware  that  for  some  time  past  my  name  has  been  occasionally 
mentioned  in  our  own  State  and  elsewhere,  for  the  office  you  mention. 
I  had. never  supposed  it  would  be  so  far  acceptable  to  the  public,  as  to 
render  an  application  to  me  necessary  to  ascertain  my  wishes  or  deter- 
mination. 

Not  having  taken  any  pains  to  ascertain  public  opinion  upon  that  sub- 
ject, I  am,  perhaps,  less  acquainted  with  the  sentiments  even  of  our  own 
State  than  any  of  my  colleagues.  As  to  my  own  wishes  and  determina- 
tion, I  can  have  no  difficulty  in  giving  you  an  answer. 

I  am  not  conscious  that  at  any  moment  of  my  life,  I  have  ever  wished 
to  be  President  of  the  United  States.  I  have  never  knowingly  uttered 
a  sentence,  or  done  an  act,  for  the  purpose  of  inducing  any  person  to 
think  of  me  for  that  distinguished  station.  When  the  duties  and  respon- 
sibilities of  the  office  are  considered,  in  my  opinion  it  is  an  object  more 
to  be  avoided  than  desired.  I  shall  certainly  never  seek  it  while  I  have 
so  little  confidence  in  my  own  capacity  to  discharge  the  duties  of  it,  as  I 
now  have. 

Those  for  whose  benefit  it  was  created,  have  a  right  to  fill  it  with  any 
citizen  they  may  prefer,  provided  he  is  eligible  by  the  Constitution;  and 
the  person  who  would  refuse  to  accept  such  an  office,  if  offered  by  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  ought  to  have  a  much  stronger  hold  upon 
public  opinion,  than  I  can  ever  hope  to  possess. 

My  most  anxious  wish  is,  that  in  any  use  you  may  think  proper  to  make 
of  my  name,  you  may  lose  sight  of  every  consideration  except  the  public 


CANVASS   WITH   MK.  VAN   BUREN.  ^31 

interest.  I  have  not  had  any  agency  in  causing  it  to  ho  used,  and  I  do 
not  feel  that  I  -would  be  justified  in  directing  the  use  of  it  to  be  discon- 
tinued. I  can,  however,  with  truth  say,  that  if  those  political  friends 
who  have  used  it  thus  far,  shall  have  reason  to  believe  that  a  further  use  of 
it  will  be  an  injury,  instead  of  a  benefit  to  the  country,  and  may  choose  to 
withdraw  it,  they  will  have  my  hearty  concurrence. 

I  am,  most  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

Hit.  L.  White. 

This  permission  having  been  given,  Judge  White  was  formally- 
nominated  for  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States  by  the  Legislature 
of  Tennessee,  on  the  16th  and  llih  of  October,  1835,  by  the  adoption 
of  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions  : 

Wheeeas,  the  people  of  the  State  of  Tennessee  in  1822,  in  1825,  and 
again  in  1827,  animated  by  a  sincere  determination  to  support  those  car- 
dinal doctrines  and  principles  which  had  distinguished  the  true  republi- 
can party  from  the  commencement  of  the  federal  government,  up  to 
that  period,  and  also  to  correct  and  reform  those  practices  which  appeared 
to  be  erroneous,  and  to  constitute  abuses  in  the  policy  and  adminstration 
of  the  government,  brought  forward  General  Andrew  Jackson,  our 
present  distinguished  Chief  Magistrate,  as  a  person  qualified  by  his  prin- 
ciples, energy,  and  great  popularity,  to  efiect  these  objects.  And  whereas, 
among  the  most  important  of  these  objects  were :  1st.  To  secure  to  the 
people  the  exercise  of  the  right  of  suffrage  in  the  election  of  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  independent  of  the  influence  and  dictation  of 
caucus  nominations,  2d.  To  resist  the  establishment  of  the  practice  of 
electing  the  President  of  the  United  States  according  to  any  plan  of  regu- 
lar succession  among  the  great  functionaries  of  the  government.  8d.  The 
limitation  and  control  of  executive  patronage  within  such  safe  and  expe- 
dient bounds  as  to  secure  the  freedom  and  purity  of  the  elective  fran- 
chise against  all  undue  official  influences.  And  whereas,  we  are  firmly 
persuaded  that  the  principles  upon  which  General  Jackson  was  origin- 
ally nominated  and  supported  for  the  Presidency,  by  the  people  of  the 
State  of  Tennessee,  have  lost  nothing  of  their  truth  or  importance  by 
the  lapse  of  time,  and  change  of  circumstances,  we  feel  impelled  by  a 
proper  regard  for  consistency,  now,  when  again  called  upon  to  reconsider 
them  in  reference  to  the  choice  of  a  successor,  or  to  re-afiirm  them  by 
a  renewed  and  solemn  declaration. 

In  the  organization  and  proceedings  of  the  late  Baltimore  Convention 
we  perceive  the  same  violation  of  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution,  the  same 
tendency  to  a  usurpation  of  the  rights  and  powers  of  the  people  in  the 


332  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

election  of  President,  the  same  spirit  of  intrigue,  the  same  liability  in  the 
members  to  be  corrnpted  and  influenced  in  their  course  by  the  promise- 
and  expectation  of  oitice,  -which  we  saw  in  the  organization  and  proceed- 
ings of  the  Congressional  caucus  in  1823,  and  then  condemned  in  the 
most  public  and  solemn  manner. 

And  whereas,  no  individual  has  been  presented  to  the  consideration  of 
the  American  people  as  a  candidate  for  the  next  Presidency,  wliose 
character  and  political  opinions  afford  the  same  guarantee  for  the  main- 
tenance of  those  principles  which  brought  General  Jackson  into  office, 
and  for  carrying  out  the  principal  measures  of  his  administration,  and 
which  so  well  accord  with  the  political  sentiments  of  the  people  of  Ten- 
nessee, as  set  forth  in  this  preamble,  as  our  fellow  citizen,  Hugh  Lawson 
White — therefore. 

Resolved,  That  Httgh  Lawson  White  be  recommended  to  the  people 
of  the  United  States  as  a  man  eminently  qualified  to  fill  the  office  of 
Pi'esident. 

Resolved,  That  we  approve  generally  of  the  principles  and  policy,  both 
foreign  and  domestic,  of  the  administration  of  the  federal  government 
during  the  term  of  service  of  our  present  distinguished  Chief  Magistrate, 
General  Andrew  Jackson. 

Ephraim  H.  Foster, 
Sjpeaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
Jonathan  Webster, 
Spealcer  of  the  Senate. 

Adopted  in  the  House  on  the  l&th,  and  concurred  in  hy  the  Senate  on 
the  17th  of  October,  1835. 

These  proceedings  were  communicated  to  Judge  White  in  the 
following  letter,  dated  Nashville,  Oct.  22,  1833  : 

To  the  Hon.  Hugh  L.  White  : 

Sib  :  The  undersigned  have  been  appointed  a  joint  committee  of  both 
houses  of  the  General  Assembly,  to  inform  you  that  the  people  of  the 
State  of  Tennessee  have  by  their  representatives  nominated  you  to  their 
fellow-citizens  of  the  United  States,  for  the  office  of  Chief  Magistrate. 

This  duty,  we  conceive,  will  he  best  discharged  by  communicating  to 
you  the  preamble  and  resolutions  adopted  by  both  houses  of  the  General 
Assembly.  Fi-om  them  you  will  learn  the  principles  on  which  the  nomi- 
nation was  made.  These,  as  also  the  attending  circumstances,  we  take 
leave  to  say,  appear  to  us  no  less  honorable  to  the  people  of  the  State 
than  to  yourself.  By  this  act,  they  have  shown  a  discrimination  and 
devotion  to  principle,  worthy  the  imitation  of  posterity. 

We  avail  ourselves  of  this  occasion  to  tender  to  you  the  assurances  of 


CANYASS   WITH   MR.  VAK   BUREN".  333 


our  esteem  and  veneration  for  your  character,  and  our  ardent  wishes  for 
your  personal  happiness. 

Wm.  Ledbettee, 
EOBT.  H.  Hynds, 
Tebrt  H.  Oahal. 


Committee    on 
the  part  of  tJie 

Senate. 


Committee  on 
•  the  part  of  the 
'  House. 


Addison  A.  Andeeson, 
"Wm.  MoClain, 
Granville  D.  Seaeot, 
Lion  Rogers, 
G.  W.  Churchwell, 
Harvey  M.  Watteeson, 
Wm.  B.  Campbell, 
J.  A.  Mabry, 
Charles  Ready, 
Robertson  Topp. 


To  this  communication  Judge* White  responded  in  the  following 
dignified  letter,  dated  Nashville,  Oct.  23,  1835  : 

Gentlemen:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your 
communication  under  date  of  yesterday,  inclosing  a  copy  of  a  preamble 
and  resolutions  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Tennesee,  recom- 
mending me  as  a  suitable  person  to  succeed  the  present  Chief  Magistrate 
of  the  United  States. 

To  receive  evidence  at  any  time  that  the  representatives  of  the  people 
of  my  own  State  continue  to  repose  confidence  in  me  would  be  highly 
gratifying ;  but  at  this  particular  time,  and  after  such  multiplied  efforts 
have  been  unceasingly  made  from  various  quarters  to  destroy  my  reputa- 
tion, to  receive  such  testimony  of  increased  confidence  is  matter  calcu- 
lated to  caU  forth  my  most  profound  acknowledgments. 

Some  of  those  who  are  members  of  the  present  General  Assembly,  and 
who  were  members  of  the  same  body  two  years  ago,  can  bear  testimony 
to  the  fact  that  I  earnestly  endeavored  to  prevent  my  name  from  being 
submitted  to  the  American  people  for  the  highest  ofiice  within  their  gift, 
but  my  efforts  have  been  unavailing.  A  state  of  things  has  been  pro- 
duced which  induces  a  portion  of  my  political  friends  to  believe  the 
interest  of  the  country  would  be  promoted  by  the  use  of  my  name  as  a 
candidate,  and  when  applied  to  on  various  occasions,  I  have  given  my 
consent,  and  I  now  take  this  opportunity  to  state  that  this  consent  will 
not  be  withdrawn. 

In  common  with  a  large  majority  of  the  citizens  of  Tennessee,  1  was  an 
humble  advocate  of  the  principles  set  forth  in  the  preamble  to  your 

21 


334  MEMOrR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

resolutions.  Time  and  increased  experience  have  tended  to  confirm  me 
in  tlie  opinion  that  on  the  maintenance  of  these  principles  the  liberties 
of  the  people  of  the  United  States  essentially  depend. 

From  the  formation  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  up  to  this  time,  there 
have  been  parties  in  the  United  States.  Where  they  are  separated  upon 
principle  the  members  of  each  may  honestly  believe  the  permanent  wel- 
fare of  the  country  depends  upon  having  the  government  administered 
upon  the  principles  which  they  advocate,  and  may  honorably  use  every 
fair  effort  to  elevate  their  own  party,  and  put  down  their  opponents. 
But  when  an  attempt  is  made  to  create  a  party  not  founded  upon  any 
settled  political  principles,  composed  of  men  belonging  to  every  political 
sect,  having  no  common  bond  of  unity  save  that  of  a  wish  to  place  one  of 
themselves  in  tRe  highest  office  known  to  the  Constitution,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  having,  all  the  honors,  offices,  and  emoluments  of  the  government 
distributed  by  him  among  his  followers,  I  consider  such  an  association, 
whether  composed  of  many  or  of  few,  a  mere yac^zo?i,  which  ought  to  be 
resisted  by  every  man  who  loves  his  country,  and  wishes  to  perpetuate 
its  liberty. 

To  conciliate  the  favor,  or  procnre^the  support,  of  any  man  or  set  of 
men,  belonging  to  any  party,  I  have  not  changed,  nor  agreed  to  change, 
any  one  political  principle  I  ever  avowed.  Those  upon  which  I  have 
heretofore  practised  shall  continue  to  be  my  guide  in  whatever  situation 
I  may  be  placed,  so  long  as  I  believe  them  .to  be  correct ;  disdaining,  aa 
I  hope  I  ever  shall,  an  attempt  to  win  my  way  to  power  upon  one  set  of 
principles,  and  then  to  practice  upon  another. 

Through  you  I  beg  leave  to  tender  to  the  General  Assembly  my  un- 
feigned and  heartfelt  thanks  for  this  additional  evidence  of  their  continued 
and  unbroken  confidence,  and  for  yourselves  be  pleased  to  accept  the 
assurance  that  I  am,  with  sentiments  of  the  highest  respect, 

Your  most  obedt.  servt., 

Hu.  L.  'White. 

The  President,  upon  finding  that  he  had  been  foiled  in  his  efforts 
to  influence  Juds'e  White  to  become  a  candidate  on  the  Van  Buren 
ticket  for  Vice-President,  or  to  accept  a  seat  on  the  Supreme  bench, 
now  began  to  use  the  patronage  of  the  government  to  seduce  from 
Judge  White's  interest  some  of  the  leading  men  in  the  Southern 
Slates.  The  plea  urged  by  them  -for  withdrawing  fr6m  Judge  White's 
support  was,  that,  by  running  more  than  one  man,  the  great  repub- 
lican party  would  be  divided,  and  that  unless  Judge  White  obtained 
the  nomination  of  the  Baltimore  Convention,  they  could  not  sustain 
him.  Had  General  Jackson's  election  depended  upon  a  caucus  nomi- 
nation, he  would  never  have  been  President;  but  he  entertained 


CANVASS   wrrn  mk.   van  bueen.  -  335 

different  views  at  that  time ;  and  when  first  presented  by  the  people 
of  Tennessee  and  Pennsylvania  did  not  prohibit  the  use  of  his  name, 
although  there  were  no  less  than  three  other  candidates  in  the  field, 
besides  himself;  Mr.  Clay,  Mr.  Crawford,  and  Mr.  Adams. 

General  Jackson  having .  decided  upon  his -course,  his  confidential 
friends,  the  Editor  of  the  Globe,  and  Major  Donelson,  his  private  secre- 
tary, circulated  a  statement  that  the  contest  in  this  canvass  would 
really  be  between  him  and  Judge  White.  The  Van  Buren  papers 
spoke  confidently  of  Judge  White's  defeat  even  in  Tennessee.  This 
prediction,  as  they  affirmed,  was  based  upon  General  Jackson's  pre- 
ference for  Mn  Van  Buren.  JSTeither  Judge  White  nor  his  friends 
gave  any  attention  to  these  movements ;  and  General  Jackson,  in  the 
confidence  of  his  power  over  the  minds  of  the  people  of  Tennessee, 
took  occasion  fully  to  define  his  position  through  a  letter  to  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Gwinn,  in  which  he  advocated  the  Baltimore  Convention.  It 
was  then  said  in  Washington  (alluding  to  this  letter),  that  a  document 
had  been  sent  to  Tennessee,  which  would  settle  the  matter  there. 

This  Convention — which  assembled  at  Baltimore  on  the  20th  May 
— ^had  been  gotten  up  for  the  express  purpose  of  nominating  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  who  very  naturally  received  its  unanimous  vote.  The  three 
States  of  Alabama,  Illinois,  and  South  Carolina,  were  not  represented 
in  the  Convention.  As  the  President  had  recommended  this  Con- 
vention to  his  Tennessee  friends,  a  failure  on  their  part  to  appoint 
delegates,  created  such  a  universal  regret  in  that  assembly,  as  to 
induce  a  Mr.  Rucker,  a  gentleman  from  Tennessee  then  accidentally 
present,  and  invited  to  act  as  delegate,  to  cast  fifteen  votes  for  the 
State,  and  thereby  to  secure  Col.  R.  M.  Johnson's  nomination  for  the 
Vice-Presidency.  To  show  the  invalidity  of  this  vote,  it  is  only  neces- 
sary to  insert  Mr.  Rucker's  own  letter  to  the  Editors  of  the  Nashville 
Union,  explanatory  of  his  conduct  on  this  occasion. 

You  will  discover  my  name  introduced  into  the  proceedings  of  the 
Baltimore  Convention.  To  prevent  all  misunderstanding,  I  make  the 
following  statement:  I  was  not  delegated  to  act  in  that  convention.  I 
happened  in  Baltimore  at  the  time  of  its  sitting,  and  after  the  delegates 
from  the  different  States  had  their  credentials  examined  by  the  committee 
appointed  for  that  purpose,  there  appeared  to  be  no  one  present  repre- 
senting Tennessee.  Tliis  circumstance  'seemed  to  be  deeply  regretted  by 
many,  and  upon  its  being  mentioned  that  I  was  there,  and  a  Tenuessean, 
it  was  suggested  by  some  that  I  might  vote,  which  I  accordingly  did. 

E.  Rucker. 


336  MEMOm    OF    HUGH    LAWSGN    WHITE. 

This  latitudinarian  proceeding  gave  rise  to  the  phrase  "Euclverize," 
which  was  then  and  afterwards  used  to  describe  that  and  other  simi- 
lar contrivances. 

It  was  supposed  that  the  decision  of  the  Baltimore  Convention,  and 
the  Gwinn  letter,  would  have  the  effect  of  causing  Judge  White's 
friends  to  make  the  issue  between  him  and  Gen,  Jackson,  which  was 
so  desirable  to  the  friends  of  Mr.  Van  Buren.  Charges  of  cowardice, 
and.  want-  of  chivalry,  in  not  assailing  the  President  at  once,  with 
various  taunts  and  epithets  of  abuse,  such  as  "  disorganizers,  intriguers, 
anti-republicans,"  were  heaped  upon  that  portion  of  the  community 
which  could  not  perceive  the  justice,  or  acknowledge  the  truth  of  the 
accusation  that  Judge  White  had  lost  his  claim  to  the  names  of  a 
good  republican  and  a  virtuous  citizen,  by  consenting  to  become  a 
candidate  for  the  Presidency.  It  now  seemed  that  all  their  efforts 
were  about  to  prove  abortive.  The  Gwinn  letter  had  failed — the 
hoped-for  issue  had  not  been  secured — and  other  means  must  be 
resorted  to — the  work  must  he  accomplished. 

The  public  mails  were  soon  flooded  with  "  Globes  "  and  extras,  con- 
taining most  virulent  attacks  upon  Judge  White,  with  specific  charges, 
of  "  bargain,  intrigue  and  corruption,"  between  Judge  White  and  Mr. 
Bell,  and  Judge  White  and  the  opposition.  These  papers  bore  tho 
President's  frank.  The  dishonorable  course  of  the  Administra- 
tion, in  this  franking  privilege,  became  necessarily  subject  to  the  ani- 
madversions of  the  public  press.  Even  then.  Judge  White's  friends 
were  willing  to  believe,  and  to  avow  their  belief,  that  Gen.  Jackson's 
confidence  had  been  abused  and  his  name  used  in  this  illegal  way 
by  designing  men.  Investigation  proved  this  supposition  to  be  cor- 
rect, to  some  extent.  However,  when  suspicion  settled  upon  Major 
Donelson,  the  President's  private  secretary.  Gen.  J.  wrote  a  second 
Gwinn  letter,  asserting  that  he  had  never  franked  any  packages  for 
Major  Donelson,  without  a  perfect  knowledge  of  their  contents,  and 
contending,  that  the  packages  contained  public  documents,  though  it 
was  notorious  and  has  been  fully  proven  that  they  were  those  malicious 
assaults, upon  Judge  White,  which  have  just  been  mentioned. 

These  things  transpired  a  little  before  the  State  elections ;  and  one 
object  evidently  was,  to  influence  those  elections  in  such  a  manner,  as 
to  secure  a  legislature,  subject  to  the  will  of  the  party  in  power — and 
who  would  relieve  it  of  Judge  White's  opposition  in  the  Senate,  by 
passing  resolutions  instructing  him  to  vote  for  Mr.  Benton's  expunging 
resolutions.     To  insure  success  in  this  experiment,  the  copies  of  the 


CANVASS    WTTU    MK.     VAN    BUREN.  337 

Globe,  containing  Col.  Benton's  speech  on  these  resolutions,  were 
franked  by  the  President  to  many  members  of  the  legislature,  and 
letters  were  written  by  him  to  Mr.  Brown,  and  A.  O.  P.  Nicholson, 
complaining  that  "  Judge  White  had  not  only  failed  to  take  part  in 
his  defence,  but  had  moved  to  strike  out  the  word  '  expunge,'  and  all 
the  reasons  on  which  Mr.  Benton's  motion  rested." 

In  his  course  on  this  subject,  Judge  White  was  sustained  by  many 
distinguished  members  of  the  Jackson  party,  viz.,  King  of  Ala.,  King 
of  Ga.,  Cuthbert,  Buchanan,  McKeever,  Tipton  and  Hendricks.  What 
was  a  virtue  in  th^m  was  a  crime  in  him.  His  political  enemies  were 
not  yet  fully  aware  of  the  materials  of  which  the  Tennessee  legisla- 
ture was  composed,  and  their  great  desire  to  expel  Judge  White  only 
made  his  friends  more  resolved  to  sustain  him.  They  had  elected  him 
a  few  months  before,  with  a  full  knowledge  of  this  objection,  and  could 
not  be  induced  to  instruct  him  to  act  differently.  So,  instead  of  hold- 
ing his  seat  by  the  President's  endorsement,  .he  unexpectedly  held  it 
in  defiance  of  his  protest. 

CJol.  E.  H.  Foster,  writing  to' Judge  White,  date  Nashville,  Feb.  26, 
1836,  gives  the  following  graphic  account  of  the  struggle  in  the  leg- 
islature of  Tennessee,  to  manoeuvre  through  the  instructions  to  vote 
for  expunging,  and  the  resolutions  to  withdraw  Judge  White's  nomi- 
nation : 


In  other  matters,  a  very  large  majority  of  that  legislature  who 
elected  you,  sir,  with  one  voiee,  have  proudly  distinguished  this  noble 
State  before  the  whole  American  Republic.  They  have  withstood  alike 
the  persuasions  and  the  threats  of  the  strongest  arm  m  the  nation,  and 
that  mighty  arm  laid  bare  and  unblushingly  held  up  to  the  gaze  of  all, 
that  nothing  of  its  overwhelming  eifects  on  popular  love  and  veneration 
might  be  lost — that  arm,  hitherto  and  perhaps  still  invincible,  was  laid 
upon  you  and  your  friends.  Thank  God,  here  we  have  thus  far  with- 
stood its  withering,  destructive,  paralyzing  force,  and  we  stand  proudly 
erect  after  the  storm  has  spent  its  violence  and  wasted  its  strength.  IIow 
happy  I  am  in  the  reflection  I  leave  your  own  patriotic  feelings  to  paint. 
*  *  *  The  "expunging  resolutions"  had  been  suffered  to  sleep  in  quiet 
for  the  space  of  near  a  five-month.  Meanwhile,  as  you  have  no  doubt 
heard,  no  means  Avere  left  untried  to  gain  friends  indoors  and  without. 
The  people  were  invoked,  and  Gen.  Jackson's  reputation,  like  Caesar's 
pierced  and  bloody  mantle,  was  held  up  before  them.  Public  meetings 
were  called,  and  private  memorials  circulated.  They  sought  to  seduce 
the  ignorant  by  misrepresentation,  and  to  allure  others  by  pruiuises  and 

22 


338  MEMOm    OF    HUGH     L4.WS0N    WHITE. 

flatteries.  Gen,  Jadkson,  as  you  may  have  seen,  did  not  think  it  out  of 
the  way  to  address  himself  personally,  and  by  strong  appeals,  to  many 
members  of  the  legislature,  and  among  them  to  some  who  must  have 
been  designated  by  some  shrewd  friend  at  Washington  (the  Speaker  of 
the  House,  we  suppose  here),  for  they  had  never  had  the  honor  to  see  or 
be  seen  by  the  President,  and  were  surprised — not  flattered  off  by  the  dis- 
tinction. Well,  the  session  was  fast  drawing  to  a  close,  and  the'Van 
Bureu  leaders  (not  bad  tacticians,  I  assure  you),  determined  on  an  effort. 
Friday,  the  12th  instant,  they  [the  expunging  resolutions,  Bd.'\  were 
called  for,  and  notwithstanding  many  of  your  friends,  anxious  for  the 
fight,  voted  with  the  enemy  to  bring  them  up,  the  call  failed.  Not  to  be 
out-done,  or  disappointed  in  all  hopes  of  making  something  by  a  discussion 
that  might  bring  your  name  into  angry  collision  with  the  President's,  they 
then  called  for  Col.  Johnson's  "  Te  laudamus  "  resolutions.  The  call  suc- 
ceeded, and  the  forgotten  and  long-neglected  paper,  almost. covered  with 
dust  and  cobweb,  was  dragged  to  light.  The  question  was  on  the 
amendment  in  lieu  of  the  whole,  offered  by  Mr.  Whiteside,  when  the  paper 
came  from  the  Senate  last  October.  Mr.  Eidley  obtained  the  floor,  and 
moved  to  amend  Mr.  Whiteside's  amendment,  by  engrafting  on  it  most 
of  the  servile  matter  contained  in  the  original  resolutions.  Mr.  Martin, 
of  Madison,  inquired  if  a  motion  to  amend  the  original  would  take  pre- 
cedence of  a  motion  to  amend  the  amendment?  Being  answered  from 
the  chair  in  the  affirmative,  he  proposed  an  additional  resolution  approv- 
ing "both  generally  and  specially,"  the  President's  proclamation  against 
South  Carolina  nullification ;  "  not "  as  he  observes,  "  that  he  approved  of 
the  reasoning  or  the  doctrine  contained  in  that  paper,  either  in  whole  or 
in  part ;  for  he  had  made,  and  still  made  open-day  war  against  the  instru- 
ment, its  Jogic  and  its  conclusions,  and  his  arm  would  never  be  grounded ; 
but  he  felt  a  desire  to  try  the  stomachs  of  some  of  his  over-righteous, 
ivholcThog  Jaekson  friends,  and  as  the  occasion  fitted  so  well,  he  could 
not  forego  the  pleasure,  or  the  malice,  as  gentlemen  might  choose  to  call 
it,  of  making  the  experiment."  If  a  whizzing  little  bomb  had  fallen  on  the 
floor,  it  would  not  have  produced  more  amazement  in  certain  quarters, 
than  this  villainous  amendment  did.  Mr.  Humphreys,  Mr.  Overton,  and  Mr. 
Allen,  of  Perry,  all  "  good  men  and  true  "  to  the  cause  of  Mr.  Vau  Buren, 
sprang  on  the  nuUifier.  It  seemed  as  if  they  really  intended  to  deyour 
him.  I  cast  a  longing  eye  towards  Martin,  for  I  felt  for  him.  One  glance 
convinced  me  that  I  might  save  my  compassion.  There  he  sat,  like  a 
huge  bull-dog,  casting  a  calm  and  indifferent  eye,  now  on  this  side  and 
now  on  that,  at  the  whole  pack  that  bayed  him,  conscious  no  doubt  of 
his  own  strength,  and  knowing  that  he  could  crush  them  whenever  they 
ventured  .too  far.  On  the  question,  the  amendment  was  ordered  by  a  large 
vote,  Mr.  Humphreys  and  Mr.  Allen  voting  with  the  minority,  and  doubt- 
less cursing  the  artificer  and  the  artifice  tliat  forced  them  to  so  unmannerly 


CANVASS    WITH    AIR.    VAN    BTJREN.      '  339 

an  exposure.  Not  contented  with  this  experiment,  but  resolved  to  try  their 
'*  faith''  by  the  most  horrible  and  at  the  same  time  indisputable  test,  Martin 
again  reached  the  floor,  and  moved  an  amendment,  that  the  President's 
course,  in  attempting  by  his  influence  to  secure  the  election  of  a  successor 
of  his  own  choice,  by  his  franks  and  his  letters,  so  far  as  any  member  bad 
knowledge  of  such  letters  and  franks,  met  the  hearty  approbation  of  the 
General  Assembly.     This,  indeed,  was  the  "unkindest  cut  of  all."     Old 
Job  himself,  patience  personified,  could  not  stand  it  longer.     But  neces- 
sity is  the  mother  of  invention  •  and  the  Van  Buren  men,  thus  chased 
and  caught  in  their  own  toils,  immediately  took  shelter  under  the  "  expung- 
ing resolutions."     Col.  Guild  moved  a  substitute  in  lieu  of  Mr.  Martin's 
amendment.     It  was  a  new  and  improved  edition  of  the  "  expunging  reso- 
lutions," Just  from  Washington,  dispatched  by  Col.  Benton,  as  was  pub- 
licly charged  in  debate  and  not  denied ;    and  defined  "  expunging  "  to 
consist  in  drawing  black  lines  around  and  making  notes  across,  and  not 
in  blotting  out  or  erasing  an  offensive  entry.     And  then  by  a  war  of 
ingenuities,  a  debate  not  anticipated  originated  in  the  House.     It  pre- 
sented, I  assure  you,  an  animated  scene.     The  lobby  was  soon  thronged 
to  overflowing,  and  many  went  away  who  could  not  crowd  in.     In  jus- 
tice to  all,  I  must  say,  the  discussion  was  ably,  adroitly  and  at  times 
eloquently  conducted,  on  both  sides.     It  continued  Friday,  Friday  night, 
Saturday  all  day,  and  until  12  at  night,  and  despite  all  my  exertions,  was 
received  at  times  with  loud  applause  in  the  lobby  and  on  the  floor.     As 
you  will  readily  imagine,  yourself  and  Mr.  Van  Buren_  both  got  some 
hard  knocks,  and'  among  hands  the  "  old  hero  "  himself  now  and  then 
received  an  unlucky  blow,  onl}',  however,  when  the  stroke  was  aimed  at 
Mr.  Van  Buren  ensconced  behind  his  mighty  buckler.     As  I  told  you,  the 
House  continued  the  debate  until  12  o'clock,  and  then  adjourned  without 
taking  the  question.     On  Monday,  and  perhaps' the  next  or  a  succeeding 
day,  several  ineffectual  attempts  were  made  to  bring  up  the  subject.    On 
Saturday'  morning  last,  and  when  but  few  anticipated  the  movement,  Mr. 
Topp,  the  talented,  eloquent  and  spirited  member  from  Shelby,  having 
being  deprived  of  an  opportunity  to  address  the  House  when  the  debate 
was  in  progress  before,  and  resolved  not  to  be  cut  off  from  delivering  his 
sentiments,  rose  in  his  place,  and  offered  a  preamble  and  resolutions  highly 
comphmentary  to  you,   and   approving  your  course  on  Mr.  Benton's 
expunging  resolutions.     He  followed  up  his  motion  by  one  of  the  most 
pungent,  forcible,  and  interesting  speeche_g  I  have  yet  heard.     He  cut  all 
round  with  a  two-edged  sword,  and  being  about  to  close,  mentioned  that 
it  was  not  his  intention  at  that  late  period  to  lay  the  resolutions  before 
the  House — that  he  had  simply  introduced  them  to  enable  him  to  give 
his  honest  sentiments  against  the  odious  proposition  to  expunge,  and  that 
he  would  now  witlidraw  them  as  he  had  a  right  to  do  by  the  i-ules.    *    *    * 
And  thus  the" expunging  "  and  the  "laudatory  "  resolutions  descend  for  the 


340  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

present  to  the  "tomb  of  tlie  Capulets;"  tlie  former,  I  trust  in  God,  never  to 
rise  again,  nor  the  latter,  wliile  they  come  to  ns  in  strains  of  adulation 
more  suited  to  the  attributes  of  his  Maker  than  of  man. 


Judge  White's  correspondence  at  and  about  this  period  bears  suffi-  | 
cient  testimony  to  the  equanimity  with  which  he  bore  the  assaults 
and  manoeuvres  of  his  enemies,  although  a  proper  regard,  for  his  own 
character  and  for  the  friends  who  were  upholding  him  rendered  it  a 
right,  that  he  should  now  be  interested  in  his  own  success,  and  at 
least  do  whatever  was  necessary  to  a  proper  appreciation  and  acknow- 
ledgment of  their  endeavors.  These  letters  show  likewise  that'  he 
was  well  aware  of  the  corrupt  means  used  by  his  opponents,  who 
descended  even  to  the  unlawful  examination  of  private  mailed  letters. 

A  personal  friend  writes  to  him,  to  Washington,  from  home,  date 
January  7,  1836  : 

I  have  this  moment  had  a  conversation  with  Mr.  James  Jackson,  who 
is  directly  from  Nashville,  and  wlio  says  that  the  members  of  our  Legis- 
lature have  very  lately  received  communications  from  the  President, 
urging  them  to  adopt  the  resolution  instructing  you  to  vote  for  Benton's 
expunging  resolution,  and  very  abusive  of  yourself. 

Believing  it  the  duty  of  a  friend  to  advise  you  of.  such  proceedings, 
I  do  so,  and  in  addition  that  you  may  not  be  deceived,  I  here  state  to  you 
that  Andrew  Jachsoni's  frank  is  very  frequent  on  papers  abusive  of  your- 
self and  Ool  Bell,  sent  to  this  office.  I  think  (though  you  did  not  as 
early  as  myself  make  the  discovery)  you  will  be  satisfied  that  he  is  not 
the  man  we  at  one  time  took  him  to  be. 

At  one  time  I  was  a  very  clever  fellow,  and  so  were  you  and  Bell ; 
but  we  have  become  great  scoundrels  in  the  estimation  of  the  tyrant  who 
wields  the  executive  department  (indeed  all)  of  the  government. 

A  short  statement  made  by  Judge  White  in  the  Senate,  June  28, 
1836,  furnishes  a  summary  of  the  various  underhanded  engineerings 
to  which  his  opponents  were  stooping : 

At  the  last  session,  the  member  from  Missouri  (I  doubt  not  from  a 
conviction  of  the  correctness  ot  the  procedure)  submitted  his  pr-oposition 
to  expunge.  The  Chief  Magistrate  had  made  up  his  mind  who  should  be 
his  successor,  and  bad  determined  to  use  all  his  personal  influence  and  offi- 
cial patronage  to  secure  his  election.     Whilst  there  was  a  majority  of  the 


CANVASS    WITH    MR.    VAN    BUEEN.  341 

Senate  opposed  to  liini,  this  patronage  could  not  be  brought  to  operate 
with  full  effect.  Upon  discussing  tlie  expunging  resolution,  the  opinions 
of  everj'  senator  were  expressed.     The  times  of  some  were  then  expiring 

the  very  day  of  voting.     The  venerable  Chief  Magistrate  a-t  once  saw 

the  use  which  could  be  made  of  this  instrument,  and  he  has  given  it  his 
full  influence  ever  since,  under  the  hope  that,  through  its  use,  the  Senate 
could  be  expurgated,  members  whom  he  deemed  unworthy  of  the  station 
excluded,  and  their  places  supplied  by  others,  in  his  opinion,  more  worthy. 
He  seized  the  weapon,  and  has  wielded  it  with  all  the  effect  he  could. 
The  cry  "  expunge  "  was  raised,  and  has  been  continued. 

I  shall  speak  of  what  I  know,  and  what  I  believe  to  be  true.  The  time 
of  one  of  the  senators  in  my  own  State  had  expired.  Members  of  the 
legislature  and  to  the  House  of  Representatives  were  to  be  elected  in 
August.  The  Chief  Magistrate  interfered,  through  the  agency  of  others, 
in  the  elections  to  be  made  by  the  people,  and  in  the  election  to  be  made 
by  the  legislature. 

Does  any  one  who  hears  me  doubt  this  statement  ?  He  need  not. 
The  following  facts  will  show,  incontestably,  that  he  interfered  in  the 
election  to  be  made  by  the  people : 

1st.  His  two  letters  addressed  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gwin,  which  aTl  who 
look  into  newspapers  must  haye  read.  They  were  intended  for  publica- 
tion, and  were  actually  published. 

2d.  Besides  the  number  of  copies  of  the  Globe  itself,  hundreds  of  which 
he  ha(S  sent  to  Tennessee  tinder  his  frank,  he  franked  many  copies  of  the 
prospectus  for  the  extra  Globe,  which  contains  very  little  except,  misre- 
presentations and  insinuations  utterly  unfounded  and  untrue.  There  can 
he  no  pretence  that  this  was  sent  because  it  contained  any  speech,  or  any 
public  document.  There  is  no  such  thing  in  it.  I  hold  one  that  he  sent 
to  Tennessee,'  frank  and  all,  in  my  hand,  just  as  received  by  the  gentleman 
to  whom  it  was  addressed ;  and  many  others  were  scattered  through  the 
country  under  his  frank. 

3d.  He  wrote  a  letter  to  Mr.  Curry,  which  was  used  in  Col.  Standifer's 
district,  with  a  view  to  influence  public  opinion. 

4th.  He  wrote  a  letter  to  my  colleague,  a  copy  of  which  was  furnished 
to  Mr.  Johnson,  who  used  it  in  his  canvass  upon  the  stump  with  a  view  to 
aid  his  election  ;  and  it  must  have  been  intended  for  such  use  when  writ- 
ten, otherwise  we  must  suppose  my  colleague  abused  the  confidence  of 
the  Chief  Magistrate,  in-  permitting  his  letter  to  be  applied  to  a  purpose 
not  intended  by  the  writer. 

These  few  facts,  independent  of  many  others  which  might  be  stated, 
satisfy  me  that  he  did  interfere,  and  use  his  influence  with  the  people  to 
regulate  their  opinions  in  the  elections. 

Secondly.  He  interfered  with  the  legislature. 

1.  On  the  next  day  after  they  assembled,  under  his  frank,  each  member 


342  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

received  three  rmmhevs  of  the  extra  Globe,  amounting  to  three  hundred. 
Here  is  one  of]  them,  frank  and  all.  Some  of  these  Globes  contain  matter 
of  the  lowest  kind,  intended,  no  doubt,  to  disgust  the  members  with  their 
former  senator,  and  to  prevent  his  re-election. 

2.  He  wrote  a  letter  to  Mr.  Nicholson,  one  of  the  members,  which  we 
have  seen  published  in  the  newspaper,  in  which  he  complains  of  the  for- 
mer senator  for  not  defending  him  on  the  expunging  resolution  at  the 
last  session,  and  justifying  the  use  made  of  his  franking  privileges. 

3.  He  wrote  a  similar  letter  to  Mr.  Bi'own,  another  member,  a  copy  of 
which  I  now  hold  in  my  hand. 

.4.  He  wrote  to  Mr.  Guild,  one  of  the  leading  members,  a  letter  c.on- 
taining  an  argument  to  prove  the  propriety  of  instructing  the  senators  to 
vote  for  expunging  the  resolution  of  March,  1834,  and  urging  tbe- propri- 
ety of  giving  such  instructions,  and  authorized  Mr  Guild  to  submit  it  to 
the  perusal  of  other  members  ;  which  he  did  ;  and' 

5.  From  this  place  was  sent  to  this  same  Mr.  Guild  a  copy  of  the  form 
of  expunging,  which  the  senators  were  to  be  instructed  to  use ;  and  this 
form  corresponds,  as  I  have  understood,  with  that  used  in  the  resolution 
proposed  at  this  session  by  the  senator  from  Missouri. 

All  these  facts  prove  that  the  first  object  was  to  defeat  the  re-election 
of  a  senator,  who,  at  the  last  session,  had  shown  he  would  not  conform 
his  conduct  to  the  will  of  the  Chief  Magistrate ;  and,,  when  that  failed,  to 
cause  such  instructions  to  be  given  as  it  was  known  that  that  senator 
could  not  oiei/,  and  thereby  force  him  to  resign.  Both  these  objects 
failed.  The  senator  was  re-elected,  and  the  legislature  would  not  give 
any  instructions. 

Mr.  President,  I  have  not  stated  these  facts  by  way  of  complaint  agamst 
the  executive.  I  perhaps  am,  least  of  all  others,  competent  to  judge 
-whether  such  a  course  was  in  conformity  with  his  station  or  his  peculiar 
situation  ;  hut  I  state  them  that  justice  may  be  done  to  the  independence 
of  the  legislature,  and  to  their  determination  not  to  be  persuaded  or 
forced  from  what  they  thought  the  path  of  duty.  Their  course  is  the  more 
commendable,  when  it  is  remembered  they  sat  within  a  few  miles  of  his 
residence  ;  were  surrounded  by  his  personal  friends  ;  and  that  they  them- 
selves can  furnish  from  their  own  body  many  of  his  earliest,  firmest,  and 
most  undeviating  political  and  personal  friends.  Let  it  be  remembered, 
also,  that  they  then  were,  and  now  are,  the  firm  and  unflinching  sup- 
porters of  his  Administration,  upon  every  point  where  his  measures  con- 
form to  the  principles  avowed  to  iring  him  into  poicer.  Yet  they  would 
not,  and  did  not,  give  their  senators  any  instructions  upon  this  question. 
They  were  willing  to  trust  them  without  instructions  upon  this  as  well 
as  other  points ;  and  on  this  account  it  is  that  I  feel  myself  under  higher 
(Obligations  to  endeavor  to  carry  out  the  will  of  my  State  upon  this  subject, 
than  I  should  have  been  if  formally  instructed. 


CANV^ASS    WITU    MR.    VAN   BUKEiN*  343 

Writing  to  lion.    Geo.  W.  Churchwell,  date  Washington,  January 
3,  183G,  he  says: 


My  Dear  Sir:  I  ought  to,  as  I  do,  sincerely  thank  you  for  your  two 
letters.  They  are  the  only  ones  received  from  any  member  since  I  reached 
Washington.  Your  last  letter  had  evidently  been  opened  and  very 
clumsily  closed  again.     '  \    ■ 

Every  effort  has  been  making  here  to  influence  public  opinion.  B.  vras 
beaten  for  no  other  reason  than  because  he  would  not  go  against  me.  It 
was  urged  by  the  faitliful,  that  by  the  election  of  Polk,  the  vote  of  Ten- 
nessee would  be  changed.  The  course  of  Alabama,  it  is  now  said,  will  be 
followed  by  the  legislature  of  Tennessee,  and  that  in  a  very  short  time  my 
name  wiU  be  dropped  everywhere. 

I  have  never  had  a  word  from  Mr.  Olay,  but  understand  from  others 
that  he  says  without  hesitation,  that  he  will  not  be  a  candidate.  "Web- 
ster, it  would  seem,  having  lost  the  nomination  in  Pennsylvania  and 
Maryland,  will  either  be  dropped  soon,  or  if  his  name  is  continued,  it 
will  be  thought  to  be  done  to  benefit  Mr.  Van  Buren. 

I  have  not  heard  that  Mr.  Webster  himself  has  'said  one  word  on  the 
subject.  Gen.  Harrison,  from  every  indication,  will  continue  a  candi- 
date, and  my  friends  do  not  believe  my  prospects  are  to  be  materially 
changed  by  it. 

Everything  which  can  be  done  to  my  injury,  within  their  power,  is 
done  by  Grundy  and  Johnson,  from  my  own  State,  and  probably  by 
Polk,  also. 

By  the  faithful,  it  is  confidently  supposed,  that  you  will  pass  the  reso- 
lutions, ordering  us  to  expunge. 

Those  who  can  be  seduced  by  hopes  of  power  and  benefits  are  opera- 
ted on  in  that  way ;  others  are  denounced  in  the  coarsest  terms. 

As  to  myself,  I  await  my  fate  with  the  most  perfect  indifference  on 
my  own  account.  For  others,  I  have  much  feeling ;  but  for  nothing  so 
much  as  the  reputation  of  my  State.  She  now  has  the  proudest  name  in 
the  Union,  and  upon  her  firmness  in  this  crisis,  her  future  fame  essen- 
tially depends. 

Her  citizens,  in  primary  assembhes  first,  and  her  legislature  afterwards, 
have  brought  my  name  before  the  world.  Torrents  of  unmerited  abuse 
have  been  poured  on  my  devoted  head,  for  not  prohibiting  them  from 
doing  so,  and  if  now  it  is  withdrawn  by  the  mandate  or  management  of 
any  earthly  power,  then,  indeed,  will  I  admit  I  knew  nothing  of  the 
character  of  the  people  among  whom  I  have  been  raised. 

I  wish  the  expunging  resolutions  were  disposed  of,  if  they  are  to  pass, 
the  public  interest  would  require  I  should  know  it  in  time  to  apprise  the 
legislature  of  my  course  before  they  adjourn.   Write  me  frequently  ;  even 


344  .    MEMOIE    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITfi. 

if  our  letters  are  read,  it  makes  no  diflSerence,  provided  they  would  even 
then  forward  them.  • 

What  will  he  the  fate  of  any  nomination  hefore  the  Senate,  I  know  not. 
My  course  must  he  an  individual  one,  as  I  am  not  in  the  confidence  of 
any  party.  I  shall,  so  far  as  my  vote  will  go,  carry  out  the  great  princi- 
ple of  checking  executive  patronage,  being  employed  to  influence  the  right 
of  suffrage. 

"With  the  most  sincere  esteem  and  regard. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

Hu.   L.  WlUTB. 

Hon.  Geoege  W.  CmiEcnwELL. 
And  again,  a  little  later :      . , 

Senate  Chamber,  February  23, 18S6.' 

Mr  Dear  Sir:  Your  favor  under  date  of  the  8th  instant,  was 
received,  apparently  safe,  on  yesterday.  We  have  had,  almost  constantly, 
a  state  of  very  high  excitement  in  Congress,  and  have,  as  yet,  done  but 
little,  except  talk. 

•  The  Globe  has  become  more  and  more  abusive.  It  is  now  plainly  seen 
that  I  will  neither  be  coaxed,  nor  driven  from  the  position,  in  which  I 
have  been  placed  by  my  political  friends.  The  only  alternative,  there- 
fore, is  to  destroy  me  if  possible.  I  am  charged  with  insincerity, 
duplicity,  falsehood,  suppressing  the  truth  &c.,  without  stint.  In  addi- 
tion, it  is  obvious  the  whole  power  and  patronage  of  the  executive  is 
brought  to  bear.  For  all  this,  I  care  not.  My  leading  friends  here,  stand 
firm,  and  fearlessly  do  their  duty.  How  many  of  them  may  do  so  else- 
where, tiyie  alone  will  show. 

•  I  shall  calmly,  coolly,  and  without  faltering,  as  well  as  I  am  able,  dis- 
charge what  I  think  the  duty  assigned  me,  without  stopping  to  consider 
whether  it  will  elevate  or  depress  me  in  public  opinion. 

The  policy  is  to  whistle  off  as  many  of  my  friends  as  possible,  and  to 
sacrifice  the  rest. 

When  the  contest  is  over,  even  if  left  a  private  citizen,  I  would  not 
exchange  either  feelings  or  charactei',  with  the  venerable  Chief  Magis- 
trate. I  intend  to  act,  as  far  as  God  may  enable  me,  upon  the  princi- 
ples which  I  have  ever  avowed,  which  I  believe  are  sound  and  correct. 
I  will,  therefore,  have  my  own  approbation  :  whereas,  my  old  friend  is  in 
open  disregard  of  the  leading  measures  he  professed  to  entertain  when 
he  sought  power,  and  is  saying,  and  countenancing  others  in  saying, 
things  against  me,  which  he  has  the  strongest  reasons  to  believe  are 
unjust  and  unfounded. 

Our  French  war  is  happily  ended.  Should  the  instructing,  expunging 
resolutions  have  passed,  I  shall  leave  for  home  as  soon  as  I  can  make  the 
necessary  preparations. . 


CANVASS    WITH    MK.    V^VN     BUREN,  3i5 

If  permitted  to  remain  here,  I  have  no  doubt  we  shall  have  the  names 

of  some  of  Our  Flying  Squad  in  Tennessee  before  the  Senate  for  their 

pay.     My  health  continues  very  good. 

Most  sincerely  and  truly, 

Hu.  L.  "WniTEi 
Hon.  G.  W.  CnuEOHWELL.  •  "-  '  f 


Washinqton,  Jxiine  18iA,  18S6. 

Mt  Dear  Snt:  I  thank  you  most  sincerely  for  your  letter  enclosed  to 
Mr.  Lea,  and  which  he  handed  me  on  yesterday. 

I  see  no  reason  to  conclude  that  anything  which  has  occurred  here 
during  the  session  can  have  the  effect  of  doing  us  harm ;  on  the  contrary 
I  think  we  may  well  flatter  ourselves  that  progress  has  been  made  in 
giving  to  the  people  some  useful  information.  j  - 

Everything  in  the  power  of  the  executive  to  do  for  the  purpose  of 
injuring  me  has  been  done,  and  I  doubt  not  the  same  course  will  be 
continued. 

In  conformity  with  my  own  judgment,  as  well  as  what  I  believed  the 
wishes  of  my  constituents  I  have  in  every  instance  sustained  the  execu- 
tive, excepting  only  in  such  measures  as  I  believed  inconsistent  with  the 
great  principles  for  which  we  all  struggled  when  the  present  President 
came  into  power.  --  • 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  I  have  no  doubt  the  truth  is,  the  President  is 
exceedingly  anxious  that  it  should  be  known  that  his  successor  will  have 
been  elected  by  his  means  and  influence ;  and  I  am  perfectly  convinced 
Re  intends  to  put  down  every  man  who  dares  to. throw  any  obstacles  in 
his  way.        ,  . 

That  the  tiriiid  and  calculating  will  yield  to  his  wishes  is  according  to 
the  common  course  of  things ;  as  to  myself  I  am  content  to  await  the 
result  without  anxiety.  I  will  never  yield  to  the  dictation  of  any  one 
man  living,  but  will  willingly  abide  the  expressed  Avill  of  a  majority,  be 
that  what  it  may.  That  the  patronage  of  the  government  has  been  used, 
is  now  being  used,  and  will  continue  to  be  used  to  influence  public  opinion, 
I  firmly  believe.  After  the  4th  March,  1837,  the  opinion  and  influence  of 
General  Jackson  will  be  regulated  entirely  by  the  manner  in  which  vhia 
whole  public  conduct  shall  be  estimated  by  the  community  at  large. 

I  venture  one  prediction,  and  that  is  that  if  he  ever  after  that 
period  should  need  friends  he  will  find  very  few  among  those  he  is  now 
serving  most  zealously. 

Why  should  we  try  to  prove  our  letters  were  broken  ?  "Who  cares  ? 
Those  who  are  profited  by  such  villainy  will  only  be  the  better  pleased. 
All  we  can  do  in  such  cases  is  to  state  the  truth  as  it  is,  whenever  and 
wherever  we  please,  and  let  others  believe  or  disbelieve  us  as  best  suits 
them. 


346  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

You  must  expect  and  so  you  will  find  the  truth  to  be,  that  you  will 
have  the  opposition  and  enmity, of  all  thoSe  who  believe  yop  are,  or  will 
be,  in  their  way ;  and  you  will  have  better  luck  than  I,  if  you  do  not 
find  those  most  bitter  whom  you  have  treated  best. 

Patience  and  good  temper  under  injustice  is  always  the  best  policy. 
When  people  lie,  live  them  down  by  exemplary  conduct. 
^  Your  letter  at  the.  close  of  the  session  was  received  and  answered.     As 
you  did  not  receive  the  answer  some  one  else  received  the  benefit  of  it. 

If  ill  usage  could  disgust  any  one  with  the  world  I  ought  to  be  dis- 
gusted: but  I  am  not.  When  those  who  ought  to  treat  me  well,  ill  use 
me,  I  am  more  than  compensated  by  the  friendship  and  support  of  those 
who  are  under  no  obligation  to  me. 

Most  sincerely  and  truly,  yours, 

Htj.  L.  White. 
George  W.  Ohiteohwell,  Esq. 

A  speech  made  by  Judge  White  at  a  dinner  given  him  by  his 
constituents  at  Knoxville,  in  August  of  the  same  year,  contains  a  clear 
exposition  of  the  principles  upon  which  he  was  and  had  been  acting, 
of  the  gross  violation  and  desertion  of  them  by  the  party  who  were 
now  seeking  Mr.  Van  Buren's  election,  and  of  the  methods  and  motives 
by  which  the  opposition  to  himself  was  conducted  by  the  Adminis- 
tration.    The  sentiment  introducing  him  was  the  following : 

Our  distinguished  guest  and  neighbor  the  Hon.  Hugh  Lawson  White. — 
His  public  career  has  been  no  less  conspicuous  for  its  consistency,  inde- 
pendence, and  usefulness,  than  his  private  life  for  Its  propriety,  purity, 
and  uprightness.  Malevolence  and  persecution  cannot  prostrate  him. 
Tennessee  will  sustain  him  firmly  and  fearlessly  against  the  slanders  of 
malice  and  the  magic  of  the  most  influential  name. 

After  the  loud  and  reiterated  bursts  of  applause  with  which  this 
sentiment  was  received,  had  subsided,  Judge  White  rose  and  said : 

Gentlemen:  The  sentiment  just  given,  and  the  feelings  with  which  it, 
has  been  received,  encourage  me  to  do  something  more  than  make  my 
acknowledgments  for  your  undeviating  support,  and  continued  confi- 
dence. 

After  an  absence  of  almost  nine  months,  seven  of  which  were  devoted 
to  my  duties  in  Congress,  upon  my  return  home,  to  find  my  neighbors, 
the  people  of  my  own  county,  ready  to  greet  me  as  a  friend,  and  to 
declare  in  the  face  of  the  world,  that  my  character  as  a  private  citizen 
does  not  deserve  reproach,  and  that  my  conduct  as  a  public  man  meets 


CANYASS    WITH    MR.    VAN    BUREN.  347 

tlieir  approbation,  is  a  source  of  the  higliest  gratification.  More  especially 
when  I  reflect  liow  incessantly  I  have  been  assailed,  and  with  how  much 
industry  the  vilest  slanders  have  been  circulated,  under  the  sanction  of 
names,  some  of  which  I  know  are,  and  long  have  been,  very  dear  to  you, 
as  well  as  to  tlie  great  majority  of  my  fellow-citizens. 

For  eleven  years  I  have,  in  part,- represented  Tennessee  in  the  Senate 
of  tlje  United  States.  Until  the  two  last,  my  services,  humble  as  they 
•were,  appeared  to  be  acceptable  to  the  great  body  of  the  people.  Any 
complaints  against  me  were  made,  comparatively,  by  a  few,  and  they 
were  of  those  decidedly  opposed  to  the  present  Chief  Magistrate  and  his 
Administration, 

Now  the  matter  has  changed,  and  I  have  been  violently  assailed  by 
some  of  those  with  whom  I  have  formerly  acted,  and  several  of  those  who 
were  my  bitter  opponents  on  account  of  my  attachment  to  the  Chief 
Magistrate,  have  become  his  zealous  friends,  while  they  still  continue 
their  hostility  to  me.  Having  resided  in  the  State  from  my  boyhood, 
and  having,  from  the  time  I  attained  the  years  of  discretion,  been  busy 
among  the  people  in  some  capacity  or  other,  I  believed  a  large  and  over- 
whelming majority  of  our  fellow-citizens  were  decidedly  Jeffersonian 
Republicans^  and  belonging  to  that  school  of  politicians  myself,  when 
honored  with  a  seat  in  the  Senate,  I  flattered  myself  that  on  all  important 
questions,  when  I  honestly  carried  out,  in  practice,  my  own  political 
opinions,  I  would  also  faithfully  represent  the  opinions  of  my  constituents. 
I  have  neither  solicited  nor  desired  the  berth,  and  could  not  have  been 
induced  to  accept  it,  if  a  sacrifice  of  any  of  my  principles  -had  been 
required.  At  one  period,  domestic  afflictions  visited  me  in  such  rapid 
succession,  and  with  such  weight,  that  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  with- 
draw, and  let  my  place  be  supplied  by  some  one,  whose  mind  would  not 
be  doomed  to  brood  so  much  over  his  own  misfortunes ;  but  abandoned 
the  idea  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  some,  whom  I,  childishly,  then 
thouglit  my  friends,  and  who  are  now  under  the  hypocritical  pretence  of 
continued  friendship,  my  most  deadly  enemies. 

In  the  great  struggle  to  bring  the  present  Chief  Magistrate  into  office, 
it  became  necessary  that  his  friends  should  proclaim  and  enforce,  by  all 
the  arguments  they  could  advance,  their  political  principles ;  and  what 
were  they  ? 

1st.  AU  useless  expenditures  of  the  public  moneys  should  be  discon- 
tinued. 

2d.  All  offices  should  be  filled  by  men  who  were  honest,  capable,  faithful 
to  the  Constitution,  and  of  business  habits. 

3d.  Tliat  neither  Congress  nor.  any  department  of  the  federal  govern- 
ment had  any  power,  except  that  which  was  expressly  granted  by  the 
Constitution,  or  was  necessary  and  proper  to  carry  into  effect  some  power 
which  was  expressly  granted. 


348  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

4th.  That  the  Executive  power  should  be  so  limited  and  regulated  by 
Icm^  that  neither  the  President  nor  any  officer  appointed  by,  or  dependent 
upon  him,  could  use  his  influence  or  power  to  control  or  guide  pxiblie 
opinion  in  elections. 

5th.  That  the  Constitution  should  be  so  amended  as  to  secure  to  the 
people  the  right  of  choosing  the  Chief  Magistrate  themselves.  That  the 
same  person  should  not  be  elected  for  a  second  term,  and  that  offices 
should  not  be  filled  with  members  of  Congress. 

6.  That  all  surplus  moneys  which  might  accumulate  in  the  treasury, 
beyond  the  reasonable  wants  of  the  federal  government,  should  be 
divided  among  the  States  by  some  fair  ratio,  to  the  end  that  the  people, 
to  whom  it  rightfully  belonged,  might  have  the  benefit  of  it  for  Internal 
improvements,  education,  &c. 

7th.  That  all  caucuses  or  comMnations  of  men,  whose  object  it  was  to 
create  or  control  public  opinion  in  the  election  of  President  and  Vice- 
President  should  be  discountenanced  and  put  down. 

These  were  the  great  and  leading  principles  for  which  we,  in  comnwn 
with  others.,  contended.  The  public  voice  sanctioned  them  by  the  elec- 
tion of  the  Chief  Magistrate  in  1828.  In  his  inaugural  address  in  1829, 
and  in  his  subsequent  addresses,  he  has  avowed  and  proclaimed  several  of 
them.  . 

They  are  the  very  doctrines  on  which  /  have  practised  from  that  day 
to  this,  so  far  as  my  humble  capacity  enabled  me ;  and  I  now  chajlenge 
my  persecutors  to  put  their  fingers  oti  the  cases  in  which  I  have  departed 
from  them. 

How  then  has  it  happened,  that  for  the  last  eighteen  months,  or  two 
years,  my  humble  name  has,  in  a  certain  set  of  newspapers,  and  among 
a  certain  clan  of  politicians,  been  constantly  coupled  with  some  degrad- 
ing charge  ? 

Upon  this  subject,  I  can,  perhaps,  give  you  some  facts  not  heretofore 
generally  known,  and  this  I  shall  do,  not  for  the  purpose  of  injuring  any 
one,  but  for  the  sake  of  making  a  just  defence  of  myself. 

The  General  Assembly  of  this  State  sat  in  Nashville  in  the  fall  of  1833. 
At  the  commencement  of  its  session,  as  is  my  habit,  I  was  there.  While 
there,  the  news  reached  us  that  the  deposits  of  the  public  moneys  had 
been  removed  by  the  order  of  the  President,  from  the  bank  of  the  United 
States.  I  immediately  foresaw  that  this  would  produce  a  violent  efibrt ' 
in  Congress  to  put  down  the  Administration.  I  ascertained  that  there 
was  a  w;ish  among  the  members,  before  the  session  closed,  to  present  my 
humble  name  to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  as  a  suitable  person  to 
succeed  the  present  Chief  Magistrate.  To  every  member  with  Avhom  I 
conversed,  and  to  every  other  person  who  addressed  me  on  the  subject,  I 
used  all  the  arguments  in  my  power  to  prevent  them  from  doing  so ;  and 
with  some  that  I  could  take  most  liberty  with,  when  coming  away,  left 


CANVASS  wrrn  me.  van  bitren.  349 

it  in  charge,  that  should  a  nomination  be  attempted  in  my  absence,  to 
have  it  prevented. 

At  tlie  close  of  the  session  one  of  those  gentlemen  wrote  me,  that  he 
■was  censured  as  unfriendly,  for-  not  concurring  in  the  plan  of  a  nomina- 
tion. I  immediately  answered  his  letter,  assuring  him  he  had  not  only 
acted  in  conformity  with  my  wishes,  but  in  accordance  with  ray  request 
— and  that  so  sure  was  I  that  such  a  nomination  would  have  weakened 
the  President  in  Congress,  that  if  it  had  been  made,  I  would  have  held 
myself  b6und  to  withhold  my  assent. 

In  the  spring  of  1884,  I  received  communications  from  different  qua!r- 
ters  upon  the  same  subject,  proposing  that  if  it  met  my  approbation,  there 
•would  be  meetings  of  the  people  to  nominate  me.  To  this  course  I  gave 
no  encouragement.  During  that  year  the  President  visited  Tennessee, 
our  convention  was  in  session,  and  after  their  rise,  I  was  informed,  that 
some  of  the  members  had  wished  to  nominate  me,  but  had  abandoned  the 
attempt  after  they  had  ascertained  it  would  incur  his  displeasure.  On 
his  journey  to  Washington,  he  conversed  freely  with  some  of  my  friends, 
and  remonstrated  against  any  attempt  to  nominate  me  as  President — 
said  that  there  must  be  a  national  convention,  that  Mr.  Van  Buren  ought 
to  be  nominated  as  President,  I,  as  Vice  Presideiit,  and  when  Ms  eight 
years  tcere  expired  I  was  young-  enough  then  to  he  taTcen  up  as  President. 
All  this  was  communicated  to  me,-  and  the  only  answer  that  I  could 
make  was,  that  either  office  was  beyond  my  merits,  but  that  I  could  not 
enter  into  any  arrangement,  which  would  operate  as  a  lure  to  induce  any 
person  to  vote  for  myself,  or  for  any  other  person  contrary  to  his  judg- 
ment. Thus  the  matter  stood  when  the  session  of  Congress  commenced 
in  December  1834.  During  that  winter,  many  county  .meetings  were 
held,  at  which  my  name  Was  brought  before  the  public,  as  well  as  by 
the  legislature  of  Alabama. 

Under  a  full  belief  that  a  system  was  about  being  put  in  operation, 
whicli  would  destroy  the  freedom  of  election,  which  was  intended  to 
transfer  all  federal  power  it) to  certain  hands,  who^  by  the.  like  process, 
would  transfer  it  into  the  hands  of  others  at  their  pleasure,  and  that  the 
effect  of  this  would  be  to  give  the  operations  of  the  government  such  a 
direction  as  would  favor  the  interests  of  one  class  of  citizens,  at  an  entire 
sacrifice  of  the  interests  of  all  others,  I  consented  that  my  political  friends 
might  use  my  name,  or  not,  as  they  believed  would  most  promote"  the 
public  interest. 

In  this  I  might  have  erred ;  but  if  I  did  it  was  an  honest  error. 

After  giving  this  consent,  and  before  the  Baltimore  Convention,  I  was 
repeatedly  forewarned  what  I  might  expect  if  my  name  was  not  with- 
di-awn.  These  threats  carried  no  terrors  to  me.  Whatever  of  character 
I  have,  was  given  to  me  by  my  country,  and  whenever  it  becomes  neces- 
sary to  ris}s  the  whole  of  it,  in  defence  of  those  principles  which  I  think 


350  MEMOIR    OF   HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

essential  to  the  preservation  of  liberty,  I  willingly  stake  it  all.  I  feel 
that  I  was  not  intended  to,  be  the  slave  of  any  man  or  set  of  men — that 
I  have  some  mind, 'and  that  the  author  of  my  existence  intended  tliat  I 
should  exercise  it — that  I  should  form  opinions  as  to  politics  and  reli- 
gion^ and  freely  and  fearlessly  act- upon  them,  without  being  intimidated 
by  what  either  man  or  devils  can  do.  Oould  I  have  hesitated  for  one 
moment  in  my  course,  I  would  have  fancied"that  I  heard  myself  addressed 
fi-om  the  tombs  in  yonder  church-yard  (pointing  to  the  place  where  his 
father  and  motlier  are  buried),  in  language  like  this  :  my  son,  remember 
that  the  same' principles  are  now  involved,  which  were  proclaimed  in  July, 
l'r76.  .That  to  maintain  them,  I  risked  my  life,  and  everything  dear  to 
man — that  after  struggling  through  a  seven  years'  war,  with  my  compa- 
triots in  arms,  we  succeeded-  in  the  establishment  of  a  free  government 
— under  it  I  lived  happy,  prosperous,  and  died  without  leaving  a  spot 
npon  my  name — that  good  name,  an(J  that  free  government,  I  left  my 
cbildren  as  an  invaluable  inheritance ;  and  is  it  possible  that,  for  the  lack 
of  moral  coxirage^  you  will  deprive  yourself  and  your  children  of  those 
blessings  for  which  I  toiled  so  long,  and  risked  so  much  ?  If  I  still 
doubted,  a  voice  still  more  endearing,  if 'that  be  possible,  would  salute, 
my  ears  in  accents  like  these :  can  you  for  an  instant  forget  the  lessons 
taught  by  jonv  mother  ? — remember  you  have  not  only  your  fother's 
name  in  charge,  but  that  you  have  also  that  of  my  family.  Do  you  not 
i-ecollect  how  I  used  to  encourage  you,  and  your  brotlier  to  discharge 
your  duty,  as  my  only  sentinels  to  watch  and  warn  me  when  the  topies 
would  approach  our  dwelling  for  plunder,  in  your  father's  absence  in  the 
tented  fi-eld  ?  That  I  would  then  inform  you,  that  my  family  were 
among  the  first  to  hoist  the  pole  of  liierty  in  the  South,  and  among  the 
most  firm  and  fearless  in  defending  it !  And  ■v^'ill  you,  who  hjive  not  a 
drop  of  any  but  whig  blood  in  your  veins,  hesitate  as  to  the  course  yoii 
ought  to  pursue  ?  To  these  questions  I  could  give  but  one  answer — Fear 
not  for  me.  The  same  good  name  you  have  transmitted,  and  the  same 
rich  inheritance,  shall  be  left  unstained,  and  transmitted  unimpaired  to 
your  grand  children. 

But  to  proceed — the  Baltimore  Convention  met,  and  in  due  form  nomiy 
nated  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency  and  Vice-Presidency,  against  whom 
no  man  has  heard  me  say  one  word.  They  have  accepted  the  nomina- 
tions, and  I  have  no  doubt,  in  doing  so,  acted  on  those  principles  which 
they  think  it  right  to  maintain.  As  to  myself,  I  solemnly  declare  that 
with  the  knowledge  I  have  of  the  manner  in  which  that  convention  was 
brought  about,  the  object  it  was  intended  to  accomplish,  and  tlie  conse- 
quences expected  to  flow  from  it,  had  I  been  nominated  by  it  for  either. 
office,  such  nomination  would  have  been  almost  the  07ili/  contingeniy 
upon  which  I  would  have  prohibited  the  use  of  my  name. 

Let  me  not  be  misunderstood — I  am  very  far  from  intimating  it  as  my 


CANVASS    WITH    MR.    VAN   BUREN".  351 

opinion,  tliat  the  wliole  of  that  assemblage,  or  a  majority  of  them,  were 
either  dishonest,  or  dishonorable  men.  Many  of  them  are  strangers  to 
me,,  and  I  hope  were  governed  by  wortliy  motives,  and  I  doubt  not 
beheved  great  good  would  result  from  their  labors.  I,  on  tlie  contrary, 
think  nothing  but  evil  can  result  from  a  nomination  by  a,  set  of  men  c6\- 
lected  under  the  auspices  of  the  executive,  with  a  view  to  nominate  an. 
individual  designated  by  him. 

Notwitlistanding  this  nomination,  my  name  has  been  permitted  to 
remain  where  it  was  before  placed,  and  the  threatened  vengeance  has 
been  pouring  out  upon  my  devoted  head  ever  since.  "  Tray,  Blanche, 
and  Sweetheart,  Httle  dogs  and  all,"  have  been  let  loose  upon  me.  I  have 
heeded  them  not.  It  has  been  my  aim  to  bear  any  and  every  tiling.  I 
have  uniformly  conformed  my  public  conduct  to  my  avoiced  2)rinciples^ 
and  what  I  believed  the  politics  of  my  State.  So  for  as  the  Administra- 
tion has  acted  on  the  principles  which  brought  the  Ohief  Magistrate  into 
power^  I  have  been,  as  1  think,  a  uniform  and  steady,  though  very 
humble,  supporter.  If  on  any  point  he  has  changed  his  principles^  it  is 
unreasonable  to  expect  me  to  change  with  him,  unless  I  can  be  furnished 
with  sufficient  reasons  for  such  change. 

Humble  as  my  ,pr-etejisions  are  represented  to  be,  we  all-  now  see,  and 
know,  that  my  venerable  friend,  the  Ohief  Magistrate  himself,  in  his 
own  proper  person,  has  openly,  and  in  the  view  of  the  sovereign  people 
themselves,  undertaken  to  control  and  regiijate  public  opinion.  This  is  a 
trouble  which  I  am  very  sorry  he  had  to  take  on  my  account.  His  acts  are 
to  live  after  him.  He  occupies  the  most  dignified  station  upon  earth.  If 
any  man  living  did  more  towards  elevating  liim  to  that  station  than  I 
did,  it  was  because  he  had  more  influcjuc*.  He  has  the  efficient  control 
of  the  whole  fund  of  the  nation — the  disposal  of  our  invaluable  public 
domain — ^^the  appointment  of  all  officers  at  home  and  abroad — tlie  povi^er 
to  remove  tens  of  thousands  of  officers,  who  have  no  means  to  procure 
subsistence  for  a  day  if  he  chooses  to  remove  them ;  they  must  do  as  he 
directs,  or  be  turned  loose  to  starve.  AH  this  power  I  zealously  strove  to 
give  him,  and  I  did  so  under  a  thorough  conviction  tliat  he  would  only 
use  it  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution.  That  lie  would 
follow  the  wise  example  of  Washington,  of  Jefferson,  of  Madison,  and 
Monroe.  That  so  far  from  openly  interfering  in  the  election  of  his  suc- 
cessor, or  encouraging  any  executive  officer  to  do  so,  he  would  sternly  pro- 
hibit it  in  others,  and  think  it  a  high  political  and  moral  duty  in  himself 
to  be  perfectly  "  neutral^''''  and  lest  he  should  disclose  his  preference  would 
"  avoid  conversing  on  the  subject  with  his  most  intimate  friends.''''  In  this 
I  have  been  disappointed.  I  have  been  apprised  that  for  twelve  months 
past  he  has  neither  been  sparing  nor  backward  in  his  censures  of  me. 
It  gave  me  no  uneasiness — I  was^wilhng  to  bear  it  all  witliout  com- 
plaint.    My  pnly  wish  was  that  he  miglit  so  conduct  as  to^take  nothing 


352  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

from  tlie  kigh  character  which  in  commou  with  others,  I  had  for  years 
endeavored  to  give  him. '  Not  content  witli  this  lie  comes  to  our  xawn 
State,  among  my  own  constituents,  those  in  whose  employ  I. now  am, 
took  a  circuitous  roate  through  East  Tennessee,  so  as  to  be  in  many 
villages,  and  is  still  on  his  tour  through  West  Tennessee  into  North 
Alabama,  openly  denouncing  me  as  a  '•'•red  hot  Federalist^''''  having  aban- 
doned his  Administration,  mid  being  as  far  from  him  as  the  poles  are 
asunder,  «fec.  Now  with  great  deference  to  the  opinion  of  that  highly 
esteemed  and  venerable  man  I  must  be  allowed  to  say  he  is  entirely  mis- 
taken. I  am  not  now  and  never  was  a  Federalist,  in  any  sense  of  that 
term  recognized  by  or  known  to  the  American  people.  I  am  now  and 
ever  have  been,  a  Eepublican  of  Mr.  Jeiferson's  school,  so  far  as  I  haVe 
.been  able  to  comprehend  the  doctrines  taught  by  him.  The  true  way  to 
test  this  matter  is  for  each  of  us  to  put  down  the  articles  of  his  political 
creed,  and  see  in  what  we  disagree.  I  have  given  you  mine ;  you  and 
the  American  people,  who  have  taken  the  trouble  to  read  what  1  have 
said,  or  to  notice  my  recorded  votes,  know  that  I  have  practised  on  my 
professions.  It  is  not  with  me  to  say  whether  the  Chief  Magistrate  has 
practised  on  his  or  not.  If  we  now  disagree  in  anything,  I  Hrver  that  I 
agree  with  the  Republican  creed,  and  that  he  will  be  found  on  that  side 
which  leads  directly  to  monarchy,  although  I  hope  he  does  not  so  intend  it. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  upon  one  point  he  and  I  are  antipodes,  a^ 
far  apart  as  the  poles  are  from  each  other.  He  thinks  it  an  important 
point  of  his  Administration  before  his  time  expires,  to  select  his  suc- 
cessor, and  through  the  medium  of  a  Convention,  got  up  under  his  own 
auspices,  to  have,  the  person  thus  selected,  recommended  as  a  suitable  can- 
didate, to  use  all  his  influence  and  patronage  to  procure  the  election  of  the 
person  thus  recommended,  and  he  denounces  every  man  a»  a  Federalist, 
and  as  opposed  to  his  Administration,  who  will  not  vote  for  and  support 
such  person. 

I  disagree  with  this  whole  doctrine,  and  insist,  it  is  no  part  Of  his  duty 
to  select  his  successor,  to  have  him  recommended  by  a  convention,  or  to 
use  his  influence  or  patronage  to  induce  or  coerce  persons  to  vote  for  him. 
This  is  obviously  the  point  of  disagreement,  and  I  willingly  leave  to  the 
present  generation,  and  to  those  who  are  to  succeed  us,  -io  say  which  of 
us  holds  the  Eepublican  side. 

Suppose  Mr.  Adams  to  be  now  President,  and  his  term  about  to  expire, 
and  he  had  designated  Mr.  Clay  as  his  successor,  and  was  using  all  his 
patronage  to  induce  persons  to  vote  for  him,  and  was  actually  travelling 
througli  Massachusetts  and  elsewhere,  haranguing  the  people  and  denounc- 
ing General  Jackson  as  a  red-hot  federalist,  because  he  would  not  with- 
draw  his  name  and  vote  for  Mr.  Clay.  What  would  be  said  by  our 
venerable  friend  in  such  case  ? 

With  a  view  to  bring  this  doctrine  home  to  the  comprehension  of  every 


CANVASS   WITH   MR.    VAN   BUREN.  353 

man ;  suppose  there  were  now-  a  proposition  to  amend  the  Constitution, 
and  make  it  the  duty  of  every  President  before  his  term  expired  to  select 
the  mail  in  his  judgment  best  qnalitied  to  succeed  him — to  iiave  a  conven- 
tion called  to  recommend  such  person,  and  then  to  use  all  his  patronage 
and  influence  to  have  him  el'ected.  Is  there  any  one  man  in  America  so 
stupid  as  not  to  see,  it  would  be  taking  from  the  people  all  choice,  all 
power  in  electing  their  Chief  Magistrate,  and  vesting  it  in  the  hands  of 
one  man?  If  such  an  amendment  were  tp  prevail,  so  far  as  the  election 
of  President  was  concerned,  we  would  have  to  all  intents  and  purposes  a 
Monarchy.  "Well ;  if  we  can  be  prevailed  on  to  think  this  practice  ought 
to  be  pursued,  without  such  an  amendment,  practically  the  government 
is  a  monarch}-,  because  the  people  will  have  given  up  their  right  of  choice 
and  transferred  it  to  one  man.  -  It  is  not  me, alone  that  is  denounced,  but 
every -friend  I  have  in  Congress  from  the  State.  They  are  taken  up  one 
by  one  by  name  and  denounced  by  the  President  as  federalists,  and 
opponents  of  his  Administration.  In  what  have  they  opposed  his  Ad- 
ministration;? Did  they  vote  against  his  three  millions  session  before 
last?  Did  they  vote  against  expunging  the  journals?  Not  they.  Not 
one  of  them.  Yet  they  are  opposed  to  his  Administration,  because  they 
will  not  vote  for  the  person  he  has  selected  as  his  successor.  It  is  true  as 
to  one  of  them,  Mr.  Huntsman,  when  the  President  was  asked  how  he 
was,  he  said  he  did  not  know,  he  was  hanging  on  the  fence,  and  it  was 
doubtful  which  side  he  would  fall. 

In  justice  to  that  gentleman  I  must  be  permitted  to  state,  if  there  be  any 
sincerity  in  man,  he  is  as  much  on  the  Tennessee  side  of  the  fence,  as  any 
of  his  colleagues.  I- have  thought  it  right  on  this  occasion  to  bring  this 
point  plainly  and  distinctly  to  your  view  that  you  might  every  one  see 
the  reason  why  I  and  my  friends  are  denounced  as  Federalists,  opposed 
to  the  Administration  and  the  antipodes  of  our  esteemed  and  venerable 
Chief  Magistrate. 

The  real  offence  which  I  have  comniitted  is  not  the  abandonnient  of 
my  principles,  but  that  I  would  not  abandon  them.  Not  because  I 
became  the  tool  of  the  opposition  :  but  because  I  would  not  unite  with 
an  old  and  valued  friend  in  doing  that,  under  evil  and  mischievous  advi- 
sers, which  before  God  I  belierve,  would  rob  the  j^eople  of  that  freedom 
for  which  our  fathers  "  perilled  their  lives,  their  fortune  and  their  sacred 
honor,"  and  bring  reproach  upon  our  memory  when  we  are  numbered 
with  the  dead. 

I  have  no  controversy  with  the  Chief  Magistrate.  I  aspire  fo  nothing 
which  he  wants.  If  there  is  any  controversy  it  is  between  my  country- 
men, who  solicited  the  use  of  my  name,  and  him.  They  have  solicited 
me  to  let  my  name  be  used  as  his  successor,  and  I  have  consented.  This 
is  my  whole  offence.  If  there  be  anything  wrong  in  it,  who  is  the  cause 
of  it  ?    It  is  not  I  who  am  to  be  put  down  and  disgraced  in  this  contro- 

23 


354  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

versy,  if  Tennessee  is  either  coaxed  or  coerced  to  surrender  her  choice. 
It  is  the  people,  who  have  placed  me  in  the  position  I  now  occupy.  The 
Saviour  of  the  World,  when  upon  earth,  found  among  the  small  numher 
of  his  disciples,  one' Judas,  who not  only  sold,  but  betrayed  hini  for  his 
thirty  pieces  of  silver.  It  were  vain  for  one  of  my  humble  attainments, 
who  has  nothing  to  offer  but  his  best  etfoi:ts  to  promote  the  public  wel- 
fare, to  hope  that  all  who  professed  to  be  his  friends  would  continue  to 
act  up  to  that  character.  Already  have  I  found  more  than  one  Judas, 
who  by"  parting  with  their  interest  in  me  have  received  or  expect  to 
receive  more  than  twice  tlieir  thirty  pieces.  I  doubt  not  there  may  be 
more  who  will  yet  do  so;  but  if  it  is  the  will  of  Providence. that  the  use 
of.  any  name  shall  be  of  service  to  my  fellow>-men,  it  will  be  so  ordered 
that  in  place  of  such  hollow-hearted  and  false  friends,  I  shall  receive  the 
aid  and  support  of  many  honest  men,  who  will  desire  notliing  but  that 
the  government  may  be  preserved  in  its  purity :  and  if  there  lives  tlie 
man,  who  can  induce  a  majority  of  the  people  of  Tennessee  to  abandon 
their  own  principles,  and  sacrifice  an  individual,  whose  name- they  had 
placed  before  the  pnblic  to  gratify  his  wishes,  then  will  I  admit  that  I 
never  understood  the  character  of  thq  people  among  Avhom  I  have  lived  • 
for  almost  fifty-two  years. 

My  enemies  have  made  a  mistake.  They  imagine  that  as  I  have  deter- 
mined not  to  advocate  my  own  pretensions  for  the  most  dignified  station 
upon  earth,  that  they  may  charge  me  with  what  misconduct  they  please, 
in  my  present  station  as  senator,  and  that  I  must  remain  silent,  or  lay 
myself  liable  to  the  charge  of  indecency4n  electioileering.  I  cannot  and 
will  not  act  on  any  such  false  delicacy.  If  I  am  unjustly  accused — if  I  am 
charged  with  entertaining  principles,  which  do  not  belong  to  me,  -and 
these  charges  are  made  to  my  own  constituents,  by  a  i)ersQn  of  the 
highest  standing,  it^is  due  to -you,  it  is  due  to  the  country  and  it  is  just  to 
myself,  that  I  not  only  repel  tlie  charges,  but  disclose  .the  motives  of  those 
who  make  them. 

My  political  friends  who  have  placed  my  name  before  the  public,  are 
Jeffersonian  Jackson  Bepublicans^  professing  and  practising  now,  the  same 
creed  they  professed  in  1828.  Our  motto  is  '•^not  words  hut  deeds.''''  We 
detei-mine  to  prove  our  "faith  in  our  creed  by  our  practices."  >  If  for  this 
we  are  to  be  denominated  "  new-bm-n  Whigs,"  we  are  content.  Instead 
of  being  placed  in  the  company  of  aliens  and  strangers  we  will  still  be  in 
the  embraces  and  arms  of  our  long-cherished  principles.  "Names  are 
nothing,"  said  our  venerable  Chief  Magistrate,  in  his  letter  to  Mr.  Moni-oe. 
Dress  a  tory  in  the  garment  of  a  whig  and  he  will  be  a  tory  still.  As 
well  might  we  expect  to  conceal  tlie  wolf  by  putting  on  tlie  covering  of  the 
lamb,  as  to  suppose  that  we  conceal  the  conspirator  who  seeks  to  deprive 
the  people  of  their  right  of  suffrage,  by  throwing  over  him  the  name  of 
a  "  good  old  Jeffersonian  democratic  republican." 


CANVASS    WITH    MR.    V^^    BUREN.  355 

All  political  power  is  vested  originally,  iu  the  great  body, of  the  people. 
It  all  resides  thore  yet,  except  such  portions  of  it,  as  they  kave  vested  in 
their  different  agents,  to  be  used  for  their  benefit.  They  have  reserved 
to  themselves  the  riglit  freely  to  choose  the  two  highest  officers,  known 
to  the  Constitution,  in  thq,t  mode  pointed  out  by  it. 

This  right  is  the  sure  rock,  upon  which  the  whole  superstructure  rests. 
Upon  it  I  have  planted  myself—"  The  rains  of  slander  may  descend,  the 
floods  of  calumny  may  come,  the  winds,  the  storms,  and  the  tempests  of 
denunciation  may  beat  upon  .me,"  but  there  wilLI  remain  unmoved,  until 
some  political  ear.thquake  sliall  shiver  both  it  and  me  ta  atoms. 

In  conclusion,  pei-mit  mc  to  add,  that  as  to  our  venerable  and  esteemed 
Chief  Magistrate,  if  in  anything  I .  have  said  there  is  the  appearance  of 
unkindness,  or  want  of  respect,  it  was  certainly  not  mtended.  He  has 
assailed  me  openly  for  my  conduct,  while  in  your  employ.  One  of  the 
first  laws  of  our  nature  is  self-defence.  I  obey  that  law  as  a  freeman, 
whose  rights  and  reputation  are  dear  to  him.  "  We  disagree  in  opinion  on 
a  most  important  subject.  At  our  age,  and  every  circumstance  consid- 
ered, it  becomes  us  both  to  disagree,  iu  opinion,  in  good  temper.  In 
times  past  he  has  had  his  troubles,  and  in  them,  he  never  was  without  a 
friend  to  justify  or  excuse  his  conduct  when  I  was  present.  He  has 
decreed  that  we  shall  separate,  or  I  surrender  tha_t  freedom  for  which  my 
father  fought.  The  first  is  the  only  alternative  for  a  man  determined  to 
preserve  his  self-respect.  He  and  I  are  poorly  employed,  if  we  lose  our 
temper  about  -human  governments.  ■  tn  the  course  of  nature  they*must 
soon  cease  to  have  any  operation  upon  either  of  us.  We  must  soon 
appear  before  a  tribunal  where  the  Judge  himself  will  be  the  only  wit- 
ness. He  cannot  be  misled  as  to  our  acts  or  our  motives  ;  and  my  prayer 
is,  that  instead  of  applying  the  rules  of  strict  justice  to  either,  our  errors, 
vices  and  infirmities  may  find  forgiveness  in  his  mercy. 

If  thanks  from  the  fullness  of  a  grateful  heart  would  avail  you  any- 
thing for  your  unshaken  confidence  and  steady  support  under  every 
change  and  vicissitude  of  life,  I  would  pour  them  out  as  long  as  my 
strength  would  permit;  but  I  feel  that  I  have  detained  you  already  too 
long.  I  offer  you  the  following  sentiment,  in  which  I  know  you  will 
cheerfully  unite. 

Prncticet,  not  professions  .-—The  Republicans  of  Tennessee  are  now  what  they  were  in  1S2S, 
Jacksonians,  following  the  creed  of  that  Ap6sile  of  Liberty,  Thomas  Jefferson.  Should  this' 
entitle  them  to  a  "  New-born  ".  name,  they  care  not ;  provided  they  are  left  in  the  fuU  enjoy- 
ment of  their  inalienal)le  right  of  suflfrage.  Tliey  would  rather  have  even  a  had  name  with 
good  principles,  than  bad  principles  concealed  under  a  good  name. 

The  President  now  determined  to  make  the  issue  boldly  and  pub- 
licly between  Judge  White  and  himself;  and  for  that  purpose,  wlien 
Congress  rose  in  1836,  he  made  a  second  visit  to  Tennessee.     As  he 


8^6  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

passed  through  East  Tennessee,  be  appeared  in  the  character  of  an 
open  electioneerer.  His  conversations  at  Blountville,  Jonesboro', 
Greenville,  and  Newport  proved  that  the  object  of  this  tour  was  to 
aid  Mr.  Van  Buren.  Judge  White  was  denounced  by  him  as  a 
federalist ;  and  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  eulogized  as  one  of  the  purest 
democrats  tliat  ever  lived.  He  remarked  to  Mr.  Sewell  of  Lebanon, 
that  no  one  could  be  his  friend,  who  was  Judge  White's;  that  they 
were  as  far  apart  as  the  East  from  the  West.  The  same  remark  iu 
substance  he  made  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  Gillespie  of  Nashville,  a 
strong  Jackson  and  Van  Buren  man.  But  he  ascertainal,  that  as  his 
former  interference,  through  the  agency  of  others,  could  eflfect  no 
change  in  favor  of  his  candidaite,  so  neither  could  his  presence  now. 
The  freemen  of  Tennessee  claimed  the  right  of  thinking  and  acting 
for  themselves,  and  by  their  independent  course,  did  more  honor  to 
their  State  than  any  other  could  have  secured. 

The  result  of  this  contest  is  known  to  all.  Judge  White  lost  the" 
election,  but  received  the  handsome  majority  of  10,000  votes  in  his 
own  State,  notwithstanding  the  whole  power  of  the  press,  the  patron- 
age of  the  government,  and  the  personal  popularity  of  General  Jackson 
were  used  to  ,  prevent  it  The  vote  in  the  Hermitage  district  was 
forty-three  for  White,  eighteen  for  Van  Buren.  Besides  Judge  White 
and  *Mr.  Van  Buren,  there  were  three  other  candidates  in  the  field ; 
Mr.  Webster,  Mr.  Mangum,  and  General  Harrison.  The  last  men- 
tioned w^as  the  third  person  presented,  and  his  introduction  into  the 
canvass  was  supposed  to  have  been  a  movement  on.the  part  of  Mr.  Clay. 
To  this  opinion  Judge  White  subscribed,  and  avowed  it  to  his  constitu- 
ents in  a  speech  at  Knoxville,  1st  August,  1838.  This  speech  fol- 
lows. It  is  another  proof  of  the  inflexible  honesty  with  which  the 
speaker  clung  to  his  principles,  and  of  the  easy  versatility  with  which 
his  opponents  held  or  dropped  them,  as  tbe  case  might  demand. 

Fellow  Citizens  :  I  accept  your  invitation,  not  so  much  to  partake  of 
your  hospitality,  as  to  thauk  you,  in  great  sincerity,  for  your  continued 
confidence  and  support.  You  have  been  to  me  an  impenetrable  shield 
against  calumniators  and  enemies. 

After  an  abs'ence  of  twelve  months,  with  but  little  intermission,  I  am 
again  among  my  constituents. 

Thanks  to  a  kind  Providence,  and  to  my  enemies,  I  am  in  good  health, 
ready  and  willing  to  converse  with  you,  on  all  that  has.  passed,  and  is 
likely  to  happen. 

My  political  enemies  sought  to  destroy  me ;  they  fancied  it  an  easy  task ; 


CANVASS  WITH    MR.     VAN    BUREN.  357 

more  of  Kfe  was  left  tlian  they  or  I  supposed ;  their  unjnst  attacks 
revived  energies  which  I  myself  beheved  were  extinct,  and  to  all  appear- 
ances they  have  renewed  my  life's  lease  for  some  ten  or  twenty  years. 

I  am  not  only  here,  but  in  good  health ;  and  altliough  the  two  last  ses- 
sions of  Congress  wera  among  .the  most  laborious  I  have  ever  served,  I 
have  no  want  of  health  to  plead,  for  any  .deficiency  you  may  find  in  the 
performance  of  ray  official  duties. 

I  am  gratefid  to  Providence,  and  proud  before  you,  in  the  belief  that 
I  have  not  been  that  simple  automaton  Which,  by  the  official  organ,  I  was 
represented  to  be,  capable  only  of  saying  yea  or  nay  to  the  different  ques- 
tions presented  to  the  Senate  for  decision. 

The  labors  of  Congress,  both  at  the  called  and  regular  sessions,  have 
been  arduous  ;  and  although  but  few  laws  of  a  general  nature  have  been 
passed,  yet  it  has  not  been  from  inattention  to  tlie  great  interests  of  the 
country.  There  was  a  continued  struggle  betweto  the  executive  and 
Congress ;  the  first  wishing  to  obtain  an  unlimited  discretionary  power 
and  control  over  the  moneys  belonging  to  the  public;  the  latter  anxiously 
endeavoring  so  to  provide  as  to  have  them  safely  kept  and  secured,  in 
such  manner  as  to  make  them  applicable  at  all  times,  to  the  wants  of  the 
public.  To  the  opposition  in  the  House  of  Eepresentatives,  the  credit  is 
due,  of  preventing  tlie  moneyed  power  frorn  being,  in  due  form,  added  to 
the  other  powers  of  the  executive.  '  .  ' 

Shortly  after  I  entered  your  ^rvice  in  the  Senate,  the  great  controversy 
commenced,  which  ended  in  ovsting  the  then  incumbent,  and  placing  the 
late  Chief  Magistrate  in  the  executive  chair.  The  principles  for  which 
you  and  I  contended,  and  which  we  successfully  maintained,  ought  never 
be  forgotten,  and  cannot  be  too  often  recurred  to. 

"We  contended  that  the  powers  of  the  executive  were  too  great,  and 
ought  to  be  reduced,  and  limited  by  law. 

That  the  expenditui-fes  of  the  government  were  extravagant,  and  ought 
to  be  reduced. 

That  it  was  a  crime  in  the  President,  or  any  ofiicer  under  him,  to  use 
his  official  station  to  influence  the  people  in  elections. 

That  all  moneys  which  came  into  the  treasury,  beyond  those  which 
were  necessary  to  defray  the  economical  expenses  of  the  government, 
ought  to  be  returned  to;  the  people,  who  were  the  true  and  legitimate 
owners. 

And  we  solemnly  pledged  ourselves  in  the  face  of  the  civilized  world, 
that  if  we  could  obtain  place  and  power,  retrenchment  and  reform-should 
be  the  order  of  the  day.  That  the  Augean  stable  should  be  thoroughly 
swept  out  and  cleansed. 

r  Emblematic  of  what  we  intended^to  accomplish,  we  chose  for  our  motto 
the  broom,  not  one  of  the  common  material,  but  the  Hickory  broom. 

Hickory,  when  young,  is  of  a\\  descriptions  of  wood  the  most  toughs 


358  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON'   WHITE. 

Strong,  and  durahle,  hut  when  old  and  worm-eaten,  the  most  brittle 
atod  worthless. 

Confiding  in  the  sincerity  of  onr  professions,  the  sovereign  people, 
through  the  ballot  box,  placed  our  political  friends  in  power,  and  after  a 
niost  solenan  and  formal  renewal  of  our  pledges,  we  commenced  our 
operations,  and  for  the  first  four  years  I  believed  we  were  ma-king  some 
headway.  We  had  checked  internal  improvements  within  the  States,  by 
mere  federal  power,  by  vetoing  tlie  Maysville  Eoad  Bill,  the-  Eockville 
Road  Bill,  and  by  vetoing  a  bill  to  re-charter  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States ;  but  when  the  second  four  years  of  our  terms  commenced,  then 
commenced  also  a  controversy  upon  the  question,  who  should  succeed  the 
then  Chief  Magistrate. 

For  one,  I  kept  on,  endeavoring  to  apcomplish  the  task  we  had  under-, 
taken,  but  the  more  we  swept  the  dirtier  the  stable  became,  and  eventu- 
ally we  found  our  Iroom  would  not  perform  its  ofllce  ;  the  political  moths 
and  worms  had  got  into  it,  and  had  eaten  the  splits  so  badly,  that  the 
moment  we  attempted  to  sweep,  they  broke  off,  and  finally,  when  the 
second  four  years  ended,  and  we  come  to  look  into  the  Augean  stable,  we 
found  it  ten  times  as  full  of  Utter  and  filth  as  it  was  when  we  commenced 
our  operations. 

In  the  Senate  we  made  an  effort  to  pass,  and  did  actually  pass,  a  bill 
to  limit  the  power  of  the  executive  in  removals  from  office.  This  bill 
was  precisely  similar  to  one  reported  by  a  committee  of  which  I  was  a 
member,  while  Mr.  Adams  was  in  office.  So  far  as  I  know,  it  was  then 
approved  by  the  whole  political  party  to  whicTi  I  belonged ;  I  therefore 
gave  it  all  the  support  in  my  power,  and  made  in  favor  of  it,  what. I 
thought  the  best  speech  I  had  ever  made  in  Congress.  l?ut  alas!  when 
we  came  to  take  the  vote,  had  it  not  been  for  .Ool.  Benton,  who  with 
difficulty  voted  for  it,  of  all  my  old  Democratic  friends,  I  would  have 
been  found  "  solitary  and  alone  "  in  its  support. 

For  this  vote  and  this  speech,  I  have  never  been  forgiven  by  these  in 
power.  I  was  excommunicated  ;  that  which  was  sound  democracy  when 
Mr.  Adams  was  in  power,  was,  in  their,  opinion,  rank  federalism  in  the 
days  of  his  successor. 

They  did  right  to  excommunicate  me.  It  was  a  mistake  to  suppose  I 
ever  belonged  to  such  a  set  of  changelings.  I  had  been  in  earnest  in  my 
professions,  'and  wished  to  carry  them  out  in  practice.  You  know  what 
gbrt  of  a  democrat  I  am.  I  claim  to  be  a  republican  of  the  Jefferson 
school,  such  an  one  as  my  God  and  my  education  have  made  me. 
Modern  democrats  are  a  different  sect  entirely.  They  are  made  at  any 
time  the  federal  executive  needs  them.  He  makes  a  modern  democrat 
out  of  an  old  federalist,  or  any  other  worse  material.  You  and  I  both 
know  some,  that  not  many  years  sjnce  were  made  out  of  anti-war  federal- 
ists, so  rank,  that  during  the  late  war  the  young  men  had  thoughts  of 


CANVASS   WITH   MR.    VAN   BUKEN.  359 

BoaJking  them  in  the  tanvats,  on  account  of  their  tory  sentiments.  The 
process  is  a  very  simple  one ;  tlie  President  lias  a  political  jar  ready  filled 
with  a  yellow  metal,  and  by  rubbing  well  the  candidate  for  democracy, 
with  this  metal,  his  vieAvs  and  principles  are  entirely  changed,  and  he 
immediately  becomes  a  fit  communicant  of  this  modern  church.  Away 
with  such  democrats;  they  cannot,  and  will  not  long  deceive  the  people. 
Ere  long  it  will  be  found  by  all,  that  while  this  sect  have  democracy  on 
their  lips^  at  heart  they  are  tyrants  and  despots. 

For  what  did  you  and  I  toil  and  labor  to  displace  Mr.  Adams  ?  It  was 
that  we  might  bring  back  the  practice  of  the  govefnmeat  to  sound  Jeffer- 
sonian  principles;  to  an  economical  expenditure  of  the  public  money. 

Before  the  second  term  of  his  successor  had  expired,  some  of  my  politi- 
cal-friends believed  "my  humblfe  name  ought  to  be  presented  to  the  peo- 
ple as  a  candidate  for  the  high  station  he  filled.  Some  ia  this  assem- 
blage well  know  I  remonstrated  against  this  use  of  my  name,  and  fore- 
told that  with  my  limited  capacity  and  humble  pretensions,  no  hope  of 
success  ought  to  be  entertained.  They  thought  differently;  I  did  not, 
and  Would  not  yield  my  assent  until  informed  that  the  federal  executive 
had  threatened  that  if  I  did  permit  the  use  of  my  name,  I  should  be 
rendere^l  odious- to  society/.  This  threat  answered  a  purpose  that  the  per- 
suasion of  friends  could  not.  Despotic  power  never  has  governed  and 
never  shall  govern  me.  My  name  w'asy  given  to  the  public,  and  should 
have  been,  if  the  act  had  lost  me  the  good  opinion  of  every  political 
friend  I  had  upon  earth,  and  I  might  almost  add  if  it  had  even  endan- 
gered the  good  opinion  of  my  wife  and  childi-en.  The  result  is  known  to 
us  all.  The  Administration  did  its  worst.  Its  thousand  presses  were 
opened  upon  me  and  my  friends,  and  here  I  am,  in  better  health,  and  I 
think  entitled  to  more  character  than  when  they  coirtmenced  upon  me. 
Still,  let  no  man  scorn  the  power  of  the  press.  To  withstand  its  influence 
is  a  perilous  effort.  I  have  made  the  experiment,  and  now  assure  you, 
that  I  should  feel  less  risk  in  to-morrow  shouldering  my  musket  and 
knapsack,  and  marching  to  the  swamps  of  Florida  for  a  six  months'  cam- 
paign against  the  Seminoles,  than  in  encountering  such  indessant  dis- 
©harges  of  calunmy  and  slander  from  all  the  presses  which  an  American 
executive  has  the  power  to  bring  into  action. 

In  this  conflict  you,  the  freemen  of  Tennessee,  were  my  shield.  The 
poisoned  arrows  of  my  enemies  liave  fallen  harmless  at  my  feet.  I  have 
sustained  no  injury,  and  your  firnmess  has  given  a  brilliancy  to  the  star 
which  glitters  over  the  name  of  Tennessee,  of  which  we  may  all  be  proud. 

For  one,  T  am  quite  satisfied  with  the  result.  Let  none  suppose  I  am 
either  disappointed  or  mortified.  Still  more,  all  may  be  assured,  that 
witli  my  TJonsent  my  name  will  never  again  be  used  for  any  office  what- 
ever. If  I  ever  had  any  aspirations  for  high  office,  time  has  put  an  end 
to  tben-u    I  am  not  so  old  yet,  as  to  have  the  childish  belief,  that  my 


360  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

vigor  of  body  and  mind, are  to  last  always.  In  all  the  stations  I  have  yet 
occupied  I  have  been  enabled  so  to  ac<|uit  myself,  as  never  to  mortify  my 
friends.  Humble  as  my  pretensions  are,  I  have  sometiipes  been  placed 
in  high  office,  as  the  associata  of  some,  who  have  had,  much  cliaracter 
among  men ;  many  of  you  were  witnesses  of  the  manner  in  which  our 
official  duties  were  discliarged,  and  I  am- proud  in  the  belief  tlrat  jny 
reputation  has  never  suffered  by  any  comparison.  My  hope  qnd  prayer 
is,  that  I  may  have  discretion' enough  to  surrender  even  my  present  sta-. 
tion,  before  I  am  so  enfeebled,  either  in  body  or  mind,  as  t<:»  make  it 
necessary  for  the  interest  of  Tennessee  to  hiss  me  fi'om  the  stage. 

The  late  executive,,  then,  has  had  his  will  carried  into  effect  by  the  vote, 
of  the  American  people.     They  have  listened  to  his  statements  "  that  th 
whole  value  of  his  Administration  would  be  lost^  unless  Mr.  Van  Buren 
was  elected  to  carry  out  his  unfinished  measures."     The  appointee  of  the 
late  President  has  been  elected  to  "finish  his  unfinished  business." 

My  friends,. is  he  not  getting  tjirough  it  with  a  rapidity  which  you  did 
not  anticipate?  From  the  height  of  prosperity,  in  about  six  montlis  from 
the  day  of  his  inauguration,  the  country  was  brought  to  a  state  of  unex- 
ampled embarrassment.  Should  he  keep  on  in  his  ill-advised  course, 
he  jsvill  have  perfonned  his  allotted  task,  long  before  the  lapse  of  his  four 
years.  The  great  interests  of  the  country  will  be  all  sacrificed,  and  by  an. 
addition  of  the  monej'ed  power  of  the  government,  in  an  organized  form, 
to  the  powers  already  possessed  by  the  federal  executive,  the  liberty  of 
the  people  will  be  near  its  termination. 

Do  not  deceive  yourselves  by  thinking  that  the  executive  project  for 
uniting  the  purse  wdth  the  sword,  is  to  be  abandoned. 

ISTo  such  thing.  It  will  be  renewed,  again  and  again,  so  long  as  the 
most  dis.tant  hope  of  success  continues.  The  present  executive  knows, 
full  well  he  has  no  distinctive  character  of  his  own.  That  he  mjist  con- 
form to  the  will  and  wish  of  those  who  placed  him  in  his  present  high 
station. .  He  knows  the  means  by  which  he  acquired  it,  and  must  act  out 
his  part. 

Remember  that,  the  miserable  lizard  can  rea.ch  the  pinnacle  of  the  same 
spire  on  which  the  eagle  proudly  perches  himself; ,  but  the  process  by 
which  he  reaches  it,  is  very  different.  The  latter  trusting  -to  his 
native  strength  and  his  own  good  wings,  fearlessly  soars  aloft,  and 
proudly  perches  himself  on  the  summit,  in  view, of  all  beholders.  While 
the  other,  degraded  reptile,  stealthily  and  cautiously  creeps  tip,  clinging 
to,  and  ascending,  that  side  of  the  column  wjiich  will  but  screen  him 
fi'om  observation  until  he  reaches  the  pinna-de,  and  then  sUly  peeps  over, 
ready  to  shrink  back  wtien  he  .finds  himself  discovered. 

Do  you  ask  what  then  is-"to  be  done,  wlien  a  political  lizard  has  taken 
possession  of  the  station  which  ought  alone  to  be  occupied  by  the  eagle  ? 
My  answer  is  ready.     Through  the  ballot-boxes,  keep  steadil}'  switching 


CANVASS   WITH   MB.    VAN   BUREN.  361 

him,  until  lie  descends  to  that  level  which  it  is  the  interest  of  mankind 
he  should  occupy. 

Vlt  is  useless  to  deny  the  fact,  it  is  undeniably  true,  that  notwithstand- 
ing all  the  promises,  professions,  and  pledges  of  the  late  Administration, 
the*  executive  branch  of  the  government  has  become  a  piece  of  mere 
party  machinery,  operating  in  all  elections,  both  State  and  federal.  Some 
few  years  since,  on  the  centenary  birth-day  of  General  Washington,  it  was 
beautifully  said,  by  one  of  our  most  distinguished  men,  "  that  whenever 
out  government  became  a  party  machine,  .the  liberty  of  the  country 
could  not  be  preserved ;  that  tlie  government  could,  by  law,  protect  men 
against  murder,  but  not  against  suicide."  There  is  great  force  in  the 
remark,  yet  I  hope  it  is  not  true.  There  is,  however,  but  one  remedy  in 
either  ease.  .  Take  from  the^individual  the  razor  with  which  he  is  about 
to  cut  his  throat,  and  he  is,. for  the  present,  safe  against  suicide.  In  the 
same  way,  when  you  find  those  in  possession  of  executive  power  using.it 
as  the  machine  of  political  suicide,  take  away  the  means  of  mischief,  and 
you  prevent  political  suicide.  Take  from  them  their  offices,  and  place 
them  in  hands  more  worthy,  and  the  Eepublic  may  yet  be  saved. 

The  late  Administration  came  in  on  the  question  of  reform,  and  a 
retrencliment  of  expenditures.  Pray,  what  abuse  has  been  corrected  ? 
Not  one !  "What  retrenchment  has  taken  place  ?  None.  Abuses  have 
been  multiplied  and  expenditures  have  been  increased. 

Mr.  Adams  was  turned  out  because  he  wa.s  expending  from  twelve  to 
thirteen  millions  of  dollars  per  year,  and  now  we  are  expending  from 
thirty-live  to  forty  millions  per  annum, 

Can  any  man  be  so  stupid  as  not  to  see  this  is  all^  wrong  ?  Ortu  the 
babble  of  democracy  sanctify  such  a  course  ? 

Partisans  may  sing  democracy  until,  hke  the  locusts,  their  backs  are 
split,  but  it  will  not  satisfy  the  people.  We  must  be  taught  two  things, 
and  that  speedily.  We  must  have  sound  currency,  and  the  government 
must  expend  less  money. 

There  is  a  constant  press  to  increase  offices,  and  to  increase  salaries. 
Can  any  friend  of  the  Administration  put  his  finger  upon  any  message, 
specifying  the  office  to  be  abolished,  or  the  salary  to  be  decreased  ? 
Yet  they  prate  of  democracy.  •     ^ 

A  short  time  since,  we  had  a  great  struggle  to  know  what  should  be 
done  with  surplus  money  in  the  treasury.  Now  the  struggle  is  to  know 
how  to  raise   enough  to  keep  the  government  in  motion. 

Tliat  which  we  had,  is  all  gone.  Onr  currency  is  destroyed,  and  with 
it  the  commerce  of  the  country.  Our  sources  of  revenue  are  the  sales  of 
public  lands,  and  duties  upon  importations  of  goods. 

While  the  currency  is  deranged,  both  these  sources  of  revenue  are  dry- 
ing up,  and  we  are  without  revenue  to  supply  actual  wants,  and  what 
have  we  resorted  to?  To  making. paper  money;  to  issuing  treasury 
notes. 


362  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

•  A-  short  time  since,  we  and  our  families  were  to  be  made  glad,  by  peep- 
ing at  our  Benton  yellow  jackets,  that  were  peeping  through  our  purses  at 
us :  but  what  now  have  we  ?  Nothing  but  yellow-backed  treasury  notes, 
intended  to  supply  the  double  purpose  of  a  deficit  iji  the  treasury;  and  a 
circulating  mediumi 

Since  the  first  of  September  last,  we  have  authorized  the  issuing  of 
twice  ten  millions  of  treasury  notes,  and  why  ?  Because  we  needed 
money,  and  had  it  not. 

The  credit  of  the  United  States  is  good,  and  we  have  an  express  powei* 
to  borrow  money;  but  if  we  borrow,  theiDublic  will  see  that  a  national 
debt  IS  contracting,  and  will  inquire  into  the  expenditures ;  therefore,  the 
Administration  prefer  a  resort  to  treasury  notes.  Thej  appear  to  cost 
nothing,  and  if  tdlerated,  extravagant  expenditures  may  be  continued 
without  alarm  to  the  public.  This  contrivance  ought  to  be  ilipped  in  the 
bud.  ; 

Treasury  notes  are  unconstitutional,  except  used  as  a  means  to  procure 
a  loan.  Bills  df  credit  'caftnot  be  used  as  a  currency,  by  either  federal  or 
State  authority.  If  tolerated,  we  Will  sOon  have  an  extravagant  govern- 
ment, and  a  depreciated  paper  currency.  "Whenever  an  amount  of  trea- 
sury notes  is  issued  ag  a  currency,  beyond  the  duties  and  sales  of  the  pub- 
lic lands,  they  must  and  will  depreciate,  and  the  mass  of  the  people  are 
to  be  the  sufferers. 

Against  these  issues  I  have  raised  my  voice,  and  recorded  my  votes, 
and  shall  continue  to  do  so. 

You  are  ready  to  ask  me  what  is  a  remedy  for  the  evils  under  which 
the  country  labors  ?  I  tell  you  plainly.  The  remedy  must  be  found  in  a 
firm  and  manly  exercise  of  the  elective  franchise.  Vote  for  no  man,  who 
will  not  firmlj^and  fearlessly  exert  himself  to  prevent  these  now  in  power 
from  accomplishing  the  purposes  they  have  in  vicAV,  and  when  the  time 
arrives,  let  us  exert  ourselves  to  displace  the  present  Chief  Magistraie. 

I  jnay  ask,  who  will  you  put  in  his  place  ?  Is  he  pot  one  of  your  own 
original  party  and  will  you  go  against  a  man  of  your  own  principles? 

In  all  sincerity  I  Avill  answer  these  questions.  In  the  first  place  then  I 
say,  at  present,  I  do  not  know  whom  we  ought  to  endeavor,  to  put  iu  the 
place  of  the  present  incumbent.  Two  years  and  more  are  to  elapse  before 
the  election.  Previous  to  that  time  every  man  whose  name  has  been 
mentioned  as  a  probable  candidate,  may  be  removed  from  the  stage  of 
action,  as  matters  may  be  disclosed  in  relation  to  him,  which. may 
change  entirely  our  oi>inions  of  his  character  and  qualifications.  There 
is  only  one  thing  on  this  subject  upon  which  my  mind  is  at  rest,  and  that 
is  that  for  the  present  incumbent  I  will  never  vote,  while  I  entertain  the 
same  opinion  of  him  which  I  now  do. 

I  have  now  the  same  politics,  and  the  same  political  objects  to>  accom- 
plish, which  I  had  in  1828,  when  you  and- 1  successfully  exerted  ourselves 
to  elect  the  late  Chief  Magistrate. 


CANVASS   WITH   MK.    VAN   BUREN.  3G3 

Towards  the  accomplishment  of  this  ohject,  we  have  made  no  progress 
whatever.  "\^e  have  been  deceived  and  disappointed,  and  in  my  opinion 
the  present  incumbent  has  been  the  chief  instrument  in  effecting  tliis 
deception  and  disappointment.  To  continue  him  longer  in  office  would 
therefore  be  giving  up  all  wish  for  those  improvements  in  our  pub- 
lic affixirs,  which  I  believe  the  interests  of  the  country  pressingly 
require. 

Before  the  time  of  election  arrives,  some  man,  not  now  thought  of  as  a 
candidate,  holding  political  opinions  similar  to  my  own,  may  be  brought 
before  the  public  with  a  reasonable  prospect  of  success.  In  that  event  he 
should  have  my  cordial  support. 

Although  much  has  been  said  during  the  last  session  of  Congress  on 
the  subject  of  the  next  election  ;  yet  I  have  taken  no  part  in  it,  either 
directly  oi'  indirectly,  and  to  no  one  of  those  spoken  of  as  candidates  have 
I  in  any  degree  committed  myself.  I  am  now  as  free  to  make  my  choice 
as  any  of  you  can  be. 

I  have  however  reflected  on  this  subject,  in  all  its  bearings  and  contin- 
gencies, and  am  free  to  state,  that  from  present  indications,  I  think  it 
most  probable  Mr.  Van  Buren  will  b^  a  candidate  for  re-election,  and  that 
he  will  be  opposed  by  some  one,  only,  of  the  old  opposition.  Verypi-ob- 
ably  Mr.  Clay.  In  that  event  I  have  asked  mj^self  the  question,  what 
course  ought  I  to  pursue  ?  ■     "     * 

For  Mr.  Van'Bitreri  I  have  already  said  I  never  cati  and  never  will 
vote,  if  he  pursues  the  course  pursued  for  the  last  few  years.  My  motto 
is  "  not  words,  but  deeds."  I  judge  of  hira  by  what  he  has  done,  and 
catised  to  be, done,  and  not- by  what  he  has  professed. 

It  is  true  he  has  professed,  at  tinies,  to  belong  to  the  same  political 
party  to  which  I  have  ever  adhered ;  but  his  practice  has  on  no  one  point 
corresponded  with  that  profession. 

He  is  a  tariff  man  and  voted  for  that  most  odious  of  all  our  tariffs,  that 
of  1828.     I' am  agaihst  all  tariffs  for  protection  merely. 

He  Is  for  internal  improvements  by  the  federal  government  where  the 
object  is  what  he  calls  national,  and  actually  voted  for  the  erection  of  toll 
gates  on  the  Cumberland  Eoad. 

I  deny  tliat  the  federal  government  possesses  any  such  power  within 
the  State.  -  .'    , 

He  is  against  a  national  bank,  and  so  am  I,  but  then  he  goes  for  a 
treasury  bank,  which  I  think  is  worse  than  a  national  bank,  by  incorpo- 
rating Stockholders. 

He  is  for  inci-easing  executive'  power  and  patronage.  I  am  for  dimin- 
ishing and  limiting  them. 

He  is  in  favor  of  the  federal  executive,  and  officers  under  hira  using 
their  power  to  influence  public  opinion  in  elections;  I  am  decidedly 
opposed  to  any  such  practices.   • 


364  ICEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

lie  is  in  favor  of  the  Chief  Magistrate,  in  office,  selecting  his  successor, 
and  using  all  his  influence  to  have  him  elected. 

I  thinb  such  a  practice  calculated  to  convert  our  Republic  into  a 
Monarchy,  and  therefore  believe  jio  man  ought  to  be  President  who  holds 
such  doctrine. 

It  is  useless  now  to  pursue  this  contrast  any  further,  You  will  readily 
perceive  it  is  an  entire  mistake  to  suppose  we  ever  belonged  to  the  same 
party ;  yet  it  is  true  w/e  once  nominally  did.  He  came  into  it,  and  gave 
his  support  at  leather  a  late  day,  when  possibly  he  believed  he  would 
succeed  whether  he  joined  us  or  not. 

To  hira  I  have  stiU  another  objection.  He  did  not  come  into  office 
upon  any  character  of  his  own,  and  no  man  is  fit  for  the  station  he  now 
occupies  unless  he  attains  it  upon  the  strength  of  his  own  principles  and. 
character.  He  is  nothing  but  a  mere  tuft  of  political  misletoes,  having 
no  root  of  his  own,  adhering  to  and  supported  by,, the  limb  of  a  distinct 
trunk  altogether,  and  must  as  infallibly  perish  whenever,  that  trunk 
ceases  to  nourish  him,  as  the  tuffc  on  yonder  oak,  whenever  that  oak  shall 
have  decayed  and  fallen. 

The  question  then  recurs,  should  Mr.  Clay  be  the  opposing  candidate, 
what  ought  I  to  do  ? 

I  answer  I  ought  to  exercise  my  right  of  suffrage,  so  as  most  to  pro- 
mote the  public  welfare.  I  am  entirely  opposed  to  following  the  exam 
pie  of  throwing  away  my  vote,  because  the'  community  will  neither 
select  me  nor  the  man  of  my  choice.  It  is  my  duty  delibemtely  and 
impartially  to.  compare  ilie  principles  and  characters  of  those  between 
whom  the  choice  is  to  -be  made,  and  to  vote  according,  to  my  best  judg- 
ment. Permit  me,  then,  for  a  few  moments,  to  draw  your  attention  to 
a  contrast  between  these  two  gentlemen. 

Mr.  Van  Buren  is  in  favor  of  a  protective  tariff,  and  voted  for  that  of 
of  1828. 

Mr.  Clay  is  also  in  favor  of  a  protective  tariff,  but  did  not  vote  for  that 
of  1828.  He  is  the  author  of  the  Compromise  Act  of  1832,  which  settles 
the  question  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  country  at  lai-ge,  and  which  he 
believes  ought  not  to  be  disturbed. 

Mr.  Clay  thinks  the  federal  government  has  the  power  to  make  inter- 
nal improvements  within  the  States,  but  ought  not  to  excM-cise  the  jjower 
except  upon  an  object  of  general  or  national  utility,  and  that  now,  as  the 
States  have  taken  up  the  business  of  internal  improvements,  the  federal 
governnient  ought  not  to  meddle  with  it,  but  rather  aid  the  States  with 
means  by  distributing,  when  our  funds  Avill  permit  us,  the  proceeds  of 
our  public  lands. 

Mr.  Van -Buren  thinks  the  federal  government  can  and  ought  to  make 
internal  improvements  when  the  object  is  oational ; 'but  has  no  such 
power  where  the  object  is  local. 


MR.    VAN    BUREN   AND    MR.    CLAY.  365 

This  opinion  I  tliiuk  more  exceptional  than  that  of  Mr.  Clay,  because 
ander  it,  the  President  has  a  discretionary  power  to  make  improvements 
where  he  pleases,  by  calling  the  objects  national,  and  refusing  them  at 
pleasure,  by  calling  the  objects  local. 

•     Mr.  Clay  thinks  we  Jiave  the  power  to  charter  a  national  bank,  and 
that  we  ought  to  exercise  it.  '     '  .        = 

Mr.  Van  Buren  is  against  a  national  bank,  but  is  in  favor  of  a  treasury 
bank. 
The  last  is  in  my  judgment  the  most  dangerous  opinion. 
One  great  objection  to  incorporating  a  national  bank  is  a  fear  that  the 
directors  and  president  might  co-operate  in  elections,  and  if  they  did, 
that  the  moneyed  power  united  with  executive  patronage  would  be  an 
overmatch  fo;:  any  "power  in  the  hands  of  the  people. 

Now  in  case  of  a  national  bank  owned  by  stockholders,  this  Union 
miglit,  or  might  not  take  place  ;  but  in  case  of  a  treasury  bank  the  Union 
,is  certain,  aud  everything  is  in' due  form  of  law  put  into  the  power  of 
the  President. 

Even  upon  these  great  leading  points,  I  think  Mr.  CJay  greatly  prefera- 
ble to  Mr.  Van  Buren ;  but  the  contrast  ought  not  to  stop  here. 

Mr.  Van  Bm-en  is  in  favor  of  execiitive  power  and  patronage  in  its 
very  worst  forms  and  ramifications.  Mr.  Clay  is  in  favor  of  reducing 
and  limiting  them  by  law. 

In  a  few  words  I  must  state,  that  I  think  tliB  great  difference  between 
the  two  men  is,  that  Mr.  Van  Buren  will  j)rofess  any  opinions  which  will 
gain  him  most  votes  in  an  election,  and  that  when  elected,  he  will  prac- 
tice on  whatever  principles  will  give  to  himself  and  his  partisans  the 
most  money, -without  any  regard  to  the  great  interest  of  the  country. 

That  Mr.  Clay  is  a  bold,  ambitious,  frank,  and  talented  man.  That  in 
office  Ire  would  be  ambitious  so  to  administer  the  government  as  to  make 
for  himself  the  reputation  of  a  great  man,  in  the  estimation  of  enlight- 
ened men  in  his  own  day,  and  of  posterity  in  all  time  to  come. 

I  have  tlius  frankly  stated  to  you  my  opinion  in  relation  to  these  men. 
I  have  done  so  the  more  willingly,  because  I  am  under  no  obligation 
to.  either,  nor  have  I  anything  to  hope  from  them. 

It  has  been  the  fasliion  with  you  and  with  me,  to  endeavor  to  put  down 
and  keep  down  Mr.  Clay  in  time  past.  In  turn  he  has  helped  to  put  and 
keep  me  down.  His  third  candidate  for  tlie  Presidency  furnished  the  only 
argument  wliich  enabled  the  late  Chief  Magistrate  to  transfer  the  Southern 
States  to  his  candidate.  For  all  this  I  care  not.  I  had  no  claims  on  Mr.  Clay. 
On  several  great  questions  we  had  ever  disagreed  and  still  do.  Slwuld 
I  support  him  in  the  coming  contest,  it  will  not  be  because  I  have  changed 
or  intend  to  change  my  principles ;  but  because  I  like  his  better  than 
those  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  and  because  should  he  be  elected  I  expect  much 
benefit  to  the  country  ;  but  not  all  I  would  expect  by  electing  a  candi- 
date with  whom  I  accorded  in  opinion,  upon  all  great  questions. 


366  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

Be  it  therefore  remembered,  that  if  I  sustain  Mr.  Clay,  neither  he  nor 
his  friends  are  to  believe  for  a  moment  that  I  surrender  any  one  of  my 
political  principles.  Far  otherwise ;  I  wjll  retain  them  all,  and  should  I 
still  be  in  the  Senate,  if  he  were  elected,  and  attempted  to  carry  out  any 
principle  in  which  I  have  disagreed  with  him,  he  would  find  in^me  the 
same  opposition  I  have  ever  manifested. 

In  voting  in  elections,  as  in  the  discharge  of  every  other  duty  to  society, 
it  is  my  business  to  do  all  the  good  I  can,  and  if  I  cannot  get  a  candi- 
date to  vote  for,  who  comes  up  to  my  political  standard,  to  select  that 
one  who  comes  nearest  to  it. 

Fellow-citizens  :  I  thank  you  for  your  continued  confidence  and  good 
opinion ;  I  thank  you  for  the  patient  manner  in  which  you  have  gr\'en 
me  your  attention.  Had  I  the  voice  now,  which  I  had,  when,  forty-two 
years  ago  I  first  addressed  my  countrymen  on  yonder  hill  (pointing  to  the 
court-house),  you  would  have  been  enabled  to  hear  me  without  crowding 
together  in  so  small  a  compass :  but  your  kindness  can  always  remedy 
my  imperfections.  I  ask  you  to  join  me  in  the  sentiment  which  I  wiU 
read,  and  pass  to  your  president  to  be  proposed  as  one  nearest  to  my 
heart : — 

"  Tejinessee.'''' — May  she  ever  adhere  to  her  own  .principles — remain 
too  honest  tq  be  purchased,  too  well  informed  to  be  mislead,  and  too 
unyielding  to  be  subdued.  In  every  struggle  between  parties  may  her 
sons  rally  as  a  body-guard  to  protect  the  Constitution, 

^In  reply  to  this  avowal  of  Judge  White's  sentiments  respecting 
Mr.  Clay,  the  latter  gentleman  addressed  to  him  the  following  let- 
ter; which  is  published  in  justice  to  that  distinguished  statesman, 
and  as  proof  that  the  charge  of  a  coalition  between  Judge  White  and 
the  opposition  was  unfounded.  » 

Ashland,  Axig.  27, 183S. 
DpAE  Sir:  I  am  indebted  to  you,  or  to  some  other  friend,  for  a 
copy  of  the  speech  which  you  delivered  on  the  l^ate  occasion  of  a 
public  dinner  with  which  you  and  Mr.  Bell  wore  complimented  on  yonr 
return  from  Washington.  ,  I  have  attentively  perused  it,  and  with  much 
satisfaction ;  and  I  cannot  deny  myself  the  pleasure  of  saying  to  you  that 
it  is  candid,  independent,  and  in  perfect  consistency  with  your  own  prin- 
ciples, character,  and  course.  I  might  not  be  willing  to  admit  the  ambi- 
tion which  you  ascribe  to  me ;  but  I  do  not  mean  to  insist  upon  that 
observation  of  yours,  as  detracting  from  the  general  fairness  of  the 
speech.  My  chief  object,  however,  in  now  addressing  you,  is  to  cdrrect 
an  error  into  which  you  have  fallen,  in  respect  to  the  last  Presidential 
election.  You  appear  to  be  under  the  impression  that  Gen.  Harrison 
was  a  candidate  brought  out  by  me,  and  brought  out  to  avenge  injuries 


LETTER.  FKOM   MK.    CLAY.  367 

■which  I  had  pr^eviously  experienced  from  yon.  Now,- 1  assure  yon,  sir, 
that  I  had  no  more  agency  in  presenting  tlie  General  as  a  candidate  than 
yQU  had.  It  was  done  without  any  prompting  of  mine,  and  witliout  any 
priol:  consultation  with  me,  Nor^did  I,  during  the  whole  of  the  canvass, 
taSe  any  active  part  in  it.  I  felt  the  difficulty  oi  supporting  the  General, 
on  account  of  the  military  basis  of  his  pretensions  :  and  I  felt  the  diffi- 
culty of  supporting  you,  on  account  of  the  difference  which  existed 
between  us  on  some  leading  points.  But  I  never  forgot  that  it  was  due 
to  my  owh  character  to  avoid  becoming  an  active  partisan.  Towards 
the  close  of  the  canvass,  in  October  of  183G,  a  great  barbecue  was  gotten 
up  in  sight  of  my  house,  connected  with  the  presidential  election,  and  I 
was  invited  to  it.  I  could  not  decline  going ;  and  very  much  against  my 
wishes,  r  vs^as  drawn  out  to  say  a 'few  words  on  the  subject  of  the 
approaching  election.  The  main  idea  which  I  expressed  was,  that  it 
was  the  duty  of  the  people,  in  my  opinion,  to  make  the  most  determined 
opposition  to  Mr.  Van  Buren ;  and  for  one,  J  declared  my  hearty  prefer- 
ence for  either  of  the  other  candidates,  I  spoke  of  you  in  terras  of  high 
respect,  and  avowed  my  preference  of  you  to  Mr.  Yan  Buren.  Finally, 
I  stated  to  the  meeting  that  I  should  vote  for  Gen.  Harrison,  because  I 
thought  that  he  combined  the  greatest  prospects  of  defeating  Mr.  Van 
Buren.  Most  certainly  the  General  was  not  my  first  choice.  I  should 
have  preferred  Mr.  Webster  to  him,  and  so  stated. 

Tlie  condition  of  the  opposition  to  Mr.  Van  Buren  at  the  last  election, 
was  unfortunate.  No,  mode  was  devised,  and  none  seemed  practicable, 
to  present  a  single  candidate  in  opposition  to  him.  Tlie  Southern,  and 
Southwestern  States  would  not  unite  in  the  election  of  Gen.  Harrison  or 
Mr.  Webster,  and  their  friends  would  not  unite  in  your  election.  Ubder 
these  circumstances  it  was  thought  to  be  the  best  that  could  be  done,  by 
those  who  took  an  active  part  in  those  matters,  that  all  three  of  you  should 
be  ruri.  On  a  review  of  the  past,  I  think  you  must  admit  that  the  disap- 
pointment was  greatest  in  those  States  which  were  supposed  to  be 
friendly  to  you.  That  may  have  been  in  consequence  of  the  number  of 
candidates  in  the  field ;  but  that  cause  did  not  prevent  Gen.  Harrison  from 
,  obtaining  quite  as  many  votes  as  were  ever  expected.  And  I  am  sure 
you  will  regard  it  only  as  matter  of  history  when  I  express  the  -opinion 
that  if  tlie  General  had  been  out  of  the  way,  I  do  not  think  that  you 
could  have  obtained  the  votes  which  he  received.  They  would  have 
gone  to  Mr.  -Webster,  or,  wdiich  is  more  probable,  have  been  divided 
between  h'lra  and  Mr.  Van  Buren.  In  the  course  of  a  long  conversation 
with  Mr.  Webster,  months  before  the  election,  I  expressed  to  him  the 
opinion  of  the  expediency  of  his  retirement  from  the  contest,  but  he  did 
not  retire. 

If,  as  by  this  time  I  hope,  you  will  believe  that  I  had  no  agency  in 
putting  forward  Gen.  Harrison,  and  certainly  no  purpose   of   injur- 


368 


MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 


ing  yon,  you  will  do  me  no  more  than  justice  in  believing  the  assur- 
ance that  I  now  make ;  that  I  felt  no  injury  from  n/ou^  which  -required  to 
be  avenged.  I  certainly  felt  no  obligation  to  the  party  of  the  late  Presi- 
dent to  which  you  were  onc6  attached ;  but  I  had  never  understood  that 
you  had  been  distinguished  by  any  peculiar  enmity  towards  me.  And  at 
the  period  of  the  late  election  I  regarded  you  with  feelings  far  different 
from  those  of  a  political  enemy  or  opponent. 

I  thought  these  explanations  due.  I  hope  they  will  be  received  in  the 
same  frank  and  friendly  spirit  in  which  they  are  made. 

I  hope  you  have  recovered  from  the  fatigue  of  our  late  exhausting  ses- 
sion of  Congress,  Although  I  have  not  been  five  miles  from  home 
since  my  return,  I  feel  the  want  of  further  repose. 

Mrs.  Clay  desires  her  respects  to  be  presented  to  Mj-s.  White,  and  I  beg 
leave  to  add  rqine  also,  and  for  yourself,  assurances  of  the  most  cor- 


dial esteem  and  regard  of 


Your  faithful  and  ob't  servant, 


H.  Olat. 


The  Hon.  Hugh  L,  "Whitb. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

"-       .    RETIREMENT    FROM    PUBLIC    LIFE. 

In  the  fall  of  1838,  Judge  White's  health  became  rauch  impaired, 
in  consequence  of  an  attack  of  congestive  fever,,  which  had  prevailed  to 
an  alarming  extent  in  Knoxville.  Under  the  belief  that  he  should  be 
imable  to  reach  Washino^ton  in  time  for  the  meetinof  of  Cono-ress,  he 
sent  in  his  resignation,  which  Governor  Cannon  refused  to  accept. 

As  soon  as  it  was  ascertained  that  the  lemslature  of  1839  contained 
a  majority  of  Administration  members,  it  was  at  once  determined  by 
them,  to  instruct  him  out  of  the  seat  which  he  had  so  repeatedly 
desired  to  resign,  but  had  retained  to  gratify  the  leading  men  of  their 
0^\Ji  party.  To  effect  this  object  as  speedily  as  possible,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  avoid,  if  it  might  be,  the  odium  that  must  attach  to  them 
in  consequence  of  such  a  course,  they,  in  the  first  place,  endeavored 
to  make  his  resignation,  which  had  been  tendered  the  preceding  fall, 
take  effect  then ;  and  a  resolution  was*  passed  by  the  Senate,  caUing 
upon  the  governor  for  the  correspondence  which  had  passed  between 
them.  •* 

In  answer  to  which  resolution  his  excellency  sent  in  reply  the  fol- 
lowino-  communication  : — 

GENTLEMEN  OF  THE   Seij ATE  :    In  compliance  with  your  resolution ,  • 
of  the  Ilth  instant,  I  have  the  honor  to  state  that  there  is  not  in  my  V 
possession,  or  in  the  executive  department,  or  ever  has  been,  a  copy  of ' 
the  correspondence  between  the  Hon.  Hugh  L.  White  and  myself,  touch-' 
ing  his  resignation  as  senator,    No  copy  of  the  same  has  ever  been  taken, 
nor  is  his  letter  to  me  on  that  subject  in  my  possession,  or  in  the  execu- 
tive department,  it  having  been  returned  to  hira,  by  his  request,  a  short 
time  after  it  was  received.     I  have  kept  no  memorandum  of  this  com- 
munication, nor  do  Lnow  j-emember  its  precise  date.     I  am  under  the 
impression,  however,  that  it  was  in  the  early  part  of  November  last,  that 
I  received  a  communication  from  this  honorable  senator  informing  me  of 
the  severe  affliction  he  had  suffered  and  the  very  feeble  state  of  his  health 
at  that  time ;  also  expressing  his  behef  that  he  would  not  be  able  to  reach 

24  369 


370  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LATVSON    WHITE. 

Congress  by  the  ensuing  session.  And  in  consequence  of  his  inability  he 
proposed  i-esigning  his  seat  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  in  order 
that  a  fro  tern,  appointment  might  be  made  by  me  in  due  time.  On  the 
reception  of  this  letter,  I  determined  to  suspend  my  official  action  on  the 
resignation  thus  tendered  for  a  reasonable  length  of  time,  for  the  restora- 
tion of  the  health  of  our  senator,  sufficiently  to  enable  him  to  proceed  to 
the  discharge  of  his  duties ;  which  determination  wag  communicated  to 
him  with  such  reasons  and  suggestions  as  at  that  time  were  deemed  appro- 
priate, and  resulted  in  an  acquiescence  of  the  withdrawal  of  his  letter 
containing  the  proposition  to 'resign,  which  was  returned  to  him  by  his 
request,  without  my  acceptance  of  his  resignation  or  my  official  action 
on  it  in  any  way  whatever. 

This  is,  according  to  the  best  of  ray  recollection,  the  substance  of  the 
correspondence  which  took  place  between  the  honorable  senator  and  myself, 
during  the  time  and  on  the  subject  referred  to  in  your  resolution.  His 
praiseworthy  course  on  this  occasion  afforded  to  my  mind  strong 
additional  evidencfe  (to  a  long  course  of  the  most  faithful  pu-blic  services) 
o-f  themost  exalted  and  refined  sense  of  honor  and  honesty,  by  which  he 
has  been  intiuenced,  and  few  examples  of  which  have  been  set  before  us, 
\)^  the  public  men  of  our  times.  It  has  seldom  happened  that  those  'occu- 
pying si-milar  situations,  whether  in  reference  to  the  general  »r  State 
governments,  have  shown,  under  sucli  circumstances,  ^qual  patriotism  qnd 
devotion  to  the  public  interests,  and  in  the  assumption  of  authority  on 
my  part,  which  has  been  exercised  in  this  case  by  me  as  executive  of  the 
State,  I  am  conscious  of  having  been  influenced  by  honest  views  of  the 
interests  of  the  people  for  whom  I  have  acted,  together  witli  what  was 
due  under  the  circumstances,  to  a  well  tried  and  faitliiul  puldic  servant; 
and  in  assuming  the  responsibility  which  belongs  to  the  station  I  have 
occupied,  in  the  discharge  of  this  part  of  my  duty,  I  cannot  for  a  moment 
believe  that  I  have  misconstrued  the  just  and  generous  character  of  the 
people  of  our  'State  or  that  of  their  senators  in  the  legislature,  with  regard 
to  the  kind  and  indulgent  feelings  which  animate  them  towards  those 
faithful  public  servants  who  have  rendered  faithful  and  important  ser- 
vices to  our  country,  to  every  citizen  of  which,  as  well  as  to  your  honorable 
body,  I  feel  equally,  responsible  for  every  oflieial  act. 

"  Very  respectfully, 

"Newton  Cannon. 

"  Ex4cutive  office,  Nashville,  Oct.  TWi." 

Resolutions  to  the  following  effect  were  shortly  introduced  by  Mr. 
Levin  H.  Coe,  instructing  their  senators,  and  requesting  thefr  repre- 
sentatives to  vote  for  thera — 

1.  Against  a  national  bank. 

2.  In  favor  of  the  sub-treasury. 


LEGISLATIVE   LNSTRUCTIONS   TO   JUDGE   WHITE.  371 

3.  Against  Mr.  Crittenden's  Bill  to  secure  the  freedom  of  elections,  or 
any  similar  bill. 

4.  Against  tbe  distribution  of  the  proceeds  of  the  public  lands. 

5.  In  fiivor  of  a  bill  repealing  all  duties  on  imported  salt. 

6.  To  support  in  good  tliith  the  leading  measures  and  policy  of  the 
present  Administration. . 

While  these  resolutions  were  uncler  discussion  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, previous  to  their  passage  in  that  body,  the  representative 
from  Knox  county.  Gen.  Jacobs,  by  reading  the  following  letter  gave 
the  ■  House  full  assurance  of  the  course  which  JiKlge  White  would 
pursue  in  the  event  of  his  receiving  such  instructions. 

Sept.  Uh,  1839. 

DfeAR  Sir:  Your  note  of  this  date  has  been  handed  me  a  few  hours 
since.  By  it  you  request  me  to  inform  you  what  course  1  will  feel  it  my 
duty  to  pursue,  in  case  the  General  Assembly  should  pass  resolutions 
instructing  their  senators  to  vote  for  the  bill,  denominated  the  Sub-Treas- 
ury Bill,  or  resolutions  simply  expi-essing  the  opinion  that  such  bill  ought 
to  pass,  without  any  express  instructions  to  the  senators  to  vote  for.it. 

I  have  long  been  an  advocate  for  the  doctrine  of  instructions,  and  am 
of  opinion  that  when  a  senator  receives  instructions  from  the  legfslature 
of  his  State,  upon  any  subject,  when  no  eonstitutional  question  is  involved, 
he  ought  to  conform  his  conduct  to,  and  vote  according  to  such  instruc- 
tions, or  resign  ;  and  I  have  never  been  able  to  see  any  good  reason  why  the 
expression  of  an  opinion  by  the  legislature  should  not  be  considered  as 
instructions,  although  no  exjsress  instructions  accompany  such  expression 
of  opinion,  unless  the  legislature  say  they  do  not  idtend  an  expression  of 
their  opinion  to  control  the  conduct  or  votes  of  their  senators. 

I  have  considered  a  senator  as  the  agent  or  trustee  of  the  peoph  of  his 
State,  and  that  he  ought  to  c;irry  into  effect,  so  far  as  is  in  his  power,  the 
sentiments  of  a  majority  of  the  people  he  represents  upon  all  subjects, 
when  he  can  do  so,  without  violating  the  Constitution.  He  ought  to 
suppose  the  legislature,  who  are  his  immediate  constituents,  express  no 
opinion,  or  give  no  instructions  which  do  not  accord  with  tlie  sentiments 
of  a  majority  of  the  people,  and  if  he  does  not  conform  his  conduct  to  the 
expressed  opinion  of  the  people,  through  the  agency  of  tlie  legislature, 
he  is  guilty  of  a  breach  of  trust,  and  does  not  fiiithfully  represent  his  State. 

The  Sub-Treasury  Bill,  so  far  as  I  am  advised,  does  not  involve  any 
constitutional  question ;  therefore,  if  the  General  Assembly  deem  it  pros' 
per  to  instruct  their  senators  to  vote  for  its  passage,  or  consider  it  Avise 
to  express  the  opinion  that  it  ought  to  pass,  in  either  of  these  cases  I 
should  consider  myself  bound,  either  to  give  it  the  support  of  my  vote,  or 
to  resign  ;  and  I  should  certainly  adopt  the  latter  branch  of  the  alterna- 
tive.    No  consideration  could  induce  me  knowingly  to  misrepresent  the 


373  MEMOIR    OF    nUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

people  of  Tennessee,  especially  upon  a  subject  so  important,  and  by  my 
vote,  no  bill  productive  of  so  many  ill  consequences,  as  I  think  this 
■would  be,  shall  ever  be  passed.  Consistently,  therefore,  with  'my  princi- 
ples, no  course  would  be  left  me  but  to  resign. 

I  have  heretofore  opposed  the  sub-treasury,  and  voted  against  it,  unde' 
a  firm  conviction,  that  if  passed,  it  would  be  pi'oductive  of  much  mis^ 
chief;  I  believed  a  large  majoritj  of  the  people  of  Tennessee  entertained 
the  same  opinion.  At  the  last  session  our  General  Assembly  instructed 
me  to  pursue  this  course;  with  much  pleasure  I  conformed  to  those 
instructions,  and  I  cannot  now  act  so  inconsistent  a  pi;irt  as  to  support  a 
measure,  in  my  judgment  fraught  with  such  ruinous  consequences  to 
society.  I  still  believe  a  majority  of  the  people  of  tins  State  accord  wilh 
me  in  opinion  upon  this  subject,  but  as  a  senator^  do  not  consider  myself 
at  liberty  to  go-behind  the  legislature  in  search  of  public  opinion.  I 
will  act  as- if  I  believed  they  correctly  expressed  the  opinion  of  my  State, 
and  if  they  do  not,  they  are  accountable,  not  to  me,  but  to  the  people 
who  are  our  common  constituents  or  masters. 

It  is  true,  as  I  have  heretofore  said,  that  in  1834,  when  the  sub- 
treasury  was  first  spoken  of,  I  thought  favorably  of  it,  and  would  have 
supported  it,  provided  my  political  friends  had  agreed  with  me  in  opin- 
ion, but  the  matter  is  now  entirely  changed  in  my  view  of  tliis  subject. 
Then  ^y  idea  was  that  the  details  shpuld  be  such  as  to  lessen,  not  to 
increase,  the  power  of  the  executive  over  the  publid  moneys.  Now  the 
project  is  to  give,  in  my  opinion,  almost  unlimited  control  ovef  them. 

Then  it  was  very  doubtful  whether  safe  banks  could  be  induced  to 
take  charge  of  the  public  moneys  upon  reasonable  and  fair  terms.  Now, 
no  such  jdoubfcs  are  entfertained. 

Then,  I  had  entire  confidence  in  the  executive ;  now,  that  confidence 
does  not  exist. 

Then,  we  had  not  the  benefit  of  experience  on  this  subject.  The  sub-trea- 
sury has  now  been  in  actual  operation  for  several  years,  and  I.  consider 
that  this  experience  ought  to  have  taught  us  all,  that,  under  its  opera- 
tions, the  public  money  will  be  unsafe,  and  society  will  be  demoralized 
by  the  illegal  use  of  it,  and  that  the  power  of  tlie  federal  executive  will 
be  increased  to  an  extent  inconsistent  with  our  libeirties. 

It  was  my  intention  not  to  obtrude  my  opinions  upon  this,  or  any 
other  subject,  upon  any  of  the  members  of  the  General  Assembly,  but  at 
the  same  time,  I  can  have  no  inducement  to  conceal  them.  I  have,  there- 
fore, endeavored  very  briefly  to  answer  all  the  points  embraced  in  your 
note,  and  have  no  difficulty  in  giving  the  permission  you  ask,  to  use  my 
answer  in  any  way  you  may  think  proper. 

With  sentiments  of  the  most  sincere  regard,  I  am 

Your  ob't  servant, 

Hugh  L,  White. 
Gen.  Solomon  D.  Jaoods. 


LEGISLATIVE   INSTRUCTIONS   TO   JUDGE   WHITE.  373 

Completely  frustrated  in  their  previous  attempt,  the  political  oppo- 
nents of  Judge  AVhite  now  determined  to  effect  wliat  seemed  to  be 
their  sole  object  without  regard  to  consequences.  After  the  disposal 
of  a .  long  and  tedious  series  of  obstructing  amendments  offered  by 
■whig  senators,  Mr,  Gillespie,  at  the  end  of  a  month's  hard  labor, 
moved  the  previous  question,  and  supceeded  in  carrying  through  the 
resolutions  at  midnight,  November  Sth,  by  a  strict  party  vote. 

These  propeedings  brought  upon  their  contrivers  the  reprobation 
of  the  aountry,  as  is  shown  by  "the  tone  of  the  public  journals  of  the 
day. 

The."  Madisonian  "  thus  treats  the  subject  : — 

Since  the  destructives  carried  the  State  of  Tennessee  by  political  tur- 
pitude and  chicanery,  they  have  been  unceasing  in  their  _  efforts  to  push 
Judge  Wliite  from  his  seat.  We  do  not  wonder  at  it — there  is  a  daily 
beauty  in  the  presence  of  that  pure  and  exalted  patriot,  which  makes 
this  hideous ;  hence  the  ghost  of  the  blood-stained  Banquo  was  not  a 
more  unwelcome  visitor  to  the  tyrant  at  his  feast,  than  would  be  Judge 
White  to  the  ruling  party  in  the  Senate.  We  most  sincerely  trust  he 
will  not  resign.  At  this  particular  juncture,  the  nation  at  large,  as  well 
as  the  State  of  Tennessee  in  particular,  has  a  deep  interest  in  his  retain- 
ing his  seat.  We  cannot  bear  the  idea  that  a  station  held  with  honor  to 
himself  and  usefulness  to  the  nation,  should  be  yielded  to  make  room  for 
some  of  those  suppliant  tools  that  have, been  engendered  through  the 
base  degeneracy  of  the  times.  Although  in  some  instances,  the  private 
station  may  be  the  post  of  honor,  yet  in  others  it  becomes  the  duty  of  • 
the  statesman  to  yield  his  individual  views  to  the  wishes  of  the  country. 
We  feel  persuaded  that  however  much  Judge  White  may  have  desired 
repose,  their  hase  attempts  at  intimidation  will  nerve  him  to  a  proper 
resistance  of  their  nefarious  schemes. 

The  "  N,  Y.  Times,"  in  speaking  of  the  movement  of  the  ruling  party 
in  Tennessee,  says : — 

We  are  sorry  to  say  that  the  manner  in  which  these  gentlemen  were 
"instructed"  out  of  their  seats,  was  grossly  rude  and  insulting.  More  dis- 
gusting samples  of  low-bred  abuse  than  are  to  be  found  in  tlie  speeches 
made  by  some  of  the  locofoco  members  at  Judge  White  during  the 
debate  on  the  instructing  resolutions,  never  disgraced  a  parliamentary 
body.  This  portion  of  the  picture  is,  however,  somewhat  relieved  by  a  con- 
templation of  the  beautiful  dilemma  in.which  the  locofocos  were  involved 
by  their  acute  and  eloquent  opponents.  So  completely  were  the  former 
entangled  in  a  web  of  contradictions,  so  ludicrous  were  their  pe-plesed 


374  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

efforts  to  steer  between  the  CharyMis  of  giving  the  lie  to  Gen.  Jackson, 
by  voting  against  resolutions  embodying  his  very  words,  and  the  yet 
more  awful  Scylla  of  repudiating  the  stib-treasury  by  endorsing  them, 
that  we  suppose  )ve  must  find  sorpe  palliation  for  the  qverflow  of  their 
malignity  in  the  agony  of  their  annoyance. 

The  "  Louisyillg  Jpuroal "  thus  commented  upon  the  subject :  — 

Th^  speaker  of  .the  lower,  branch  decided  that  an  .amendment  could 
not  be  laid  on  the  table  without  carrying  with  it  the  main  question.  This 
decision  was  clearly  correct ;  it  was  in  accordance  with  all  parliamentary 
usage.  Some  members,  however^  in  order  to  test  the  sense  of  the  House, 
took  an  appeal  to  that  body ;  and  the  decision  Avas  almost  unanimously 
confirmed,  the  locofocos  going  for  it  in  a  mass.  Well,  only  two  or  three 
days  afterwards,  while  the  instructing  resolutions  were  up  for  considera- 
tion, the  whigs  began  to  torment  the  locofocos  by  proposing  certain  trou- 
blesome amendments,  wluch  the  locos- did  not  dare  to  vote  either  for  or 
against.  The  only  way  they  tiaw  of  getting  rid  of  them,  was  to  lay  them 
on  the  table ;  and  so  in  direct  defiance  of  the  previous  decision,  the 
spealcer  decided  and  all  the  party  except  three  sustained  him  in  it,  that 
an'amendment'might  be  laid  on  the  table  without  carrying  with  it  the 
main  proposition. 

The  following- is  from  the  "  Hamilton  Gazette,"  a  neutral  paper,  pub- 
lished in  Tennessee  : — 

Well  might  the  venerable  White  exclaim  against  his  own  State,  as 
did  the  noble  Csesar  against  his  fellow  and  friend  Brutus  when  he  too 
stabbed  him  in  the  Roman  Senate.  Judge  White  is  an  old  public 
servant ;  he  has  won  a  good  name  ^rom  every  dispassionate  man.  We 
are  toM  that  in  Washington  City  his  uribending  morality  and  inflexible 
patriotism,  manifested  by  every  action  public  and  private — his  lofty 
demeanor  and  talents  of  the  first  order — his  attention  to  business,  and 
whole  general  bearing  is  so  much  assimilated  to  that  of  the  "father  of  his 
counti'y,"  that  -he  stands  pre-eminent,  even  among  the  ClayS,  Oalhouns, 
Websters  and  Adamses.  Yet  this  man,  for  no  other  reason  than  because 
his  views  aud  sentiments  do  not  exactly  tally  with  the  majority  of  the 
legislature,  has  been  requested  to  resign  his  seat  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States.  It  is  not  often  that  we  permit  our  feelings  to  load  nk  into 
a  censorious  notice  of  either  party.  But  we  confess,  that  when  Ave  think 
of  the  disgrace  that  has  been  brought  upon  our  State,  by  tlie  reckless 
mendacity  and  total  disregard  of  every  principle  of  riglit,  to  foster  the 
pretensions  of  a  party,  our  "gorge  rises,"  and  we  are  almost  disposed  to 
think  that  a  worse  curse  is  coming  upon  us  through  the  management  of 


LEGISLATIVE   INSTKTJCTIONS   TO   JUDGE   WHITE.  375 

our  rii\crs,  than  rested  upon  France  in  hor  most  bloody  era.  If  it  were 
possible  for  a  more  judicious  choice  timn  Judge  White  to  be  made  in 
Tennessee,  the  case  woidd  not  be  so  bad.  But  every  man  in  the  majority, 
knows  full  well,  that  if  half  a  dozen  of  their  leaders  were  thrown  into  a 
crucible,  purified,  and  cast  into  one  man,,  that  he  would  fall  short  of  the 
merits  of  Judge  "White." 

The  party  being  now  anxious  to  precipitate  measures  at  Washing- 
ton, on  the  13th  January,  Mr.  Wright  called  up  the  Sub-Treasury  Bill 
in  the  Senate,  and  pressed  its  consideration  on  that  bocly.  Thereupon, 
Judge  White  rose  and  said,  that  "  he  held  in  his  hand  a  number  of 
resolutions  adopted  by  the  legislature  of  his  State,  one  of  which 
instructed  him  to  vote  in  favor  of  the  bill,  proposed  for  the  considera- 
tion of  the  Senate  to-day." 

He  requested  permission  to  read  to  the  Senate  his  reply  to  the 
legislature,  which  was  granted. 

Mr.  White  then  addressed  the  Senate  to  the  following  effect : 

Mr^  Preside>t  :  I  have  a  duty  to  perform  this  morning,  before  we  pro- 
ceed to  any  regular  order  of  the  day.  Presuming  that  the  business  of 
presenting  petitions  is  now  over,  I  proceed  to  discharge  it  with  as  little 
delay  as  possible. 

When  I  reached  this  place  on  the  29th  of  November  last,  I  was  fur- 
nished by  one  of  our  oflScers  with  a  letter,  which  contained  several  reso- 
lutions adopted  by  the  legislature  of  Tennessee,  condemning  one  of  the 
votes  given  by  the  senators  from  that  State,  at  the  last  session,  and 
instructing  them  how  to  act  in  future,  on  many  subjects.  I  believed  my 
duty  to  my  State,  and  to  the  public,  would  be  best  discharged  by  remain- 
ing in  my  seat  and  continuing  to  attend  to-  the  business  of  the  Senate,  in 
the  manner  I  had  been  accustomed  to  do,  until  some  of  the  subjects 
spedfically  mentioned  in  the  resolutions  should  be  placed  before  the  body 
for  discussion.  On  this  day  of  the  last  week,  the  honorable  chairman  of 
the  committee  of  finance  reported  a  bill,  commonly  called  the  Sub-Treas- 
ury Bill,  and  gave  notice  that  on  this  day  he  would  ask  for  its  considera- 
tion. This  being  one  of  the  subjects  mentioned  in  the  resolutions,  the 
time  lias  arrived  when,  in  my  opinion,  it  is  respectful  to  the  legislature 
of  my  State,  that  I  should  present,  them  to  this  body,  to  the  end  that  the 
members  of  it,  as  well  as  the  community  at  large,  may  be  made  acquainted 
with  what  the  General  Assembly  has  chosen  to  express  as  public  opinion 
in  Tennessee.  I  move  that  the  preamble  and  resolutions,  which  I  now 
send  to  the  secretary,  may  be  read,  printed,  and  laid  on  the  table. 

After  the  resolutions  had  been  read,  Mr.  White  proceeded  and  said, 


376  MEMOIR    OF    HtJGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

Mr.  President — ^As  I  am  now  a  member  of  this  body,  and  my  instruc- 
tions have  been  read  and  ordered  to  be  printed,  I  consider  it  proper  that 
I  ahould  follow  the  example  set  by  others,  and  make  equally  pubhc  the 
conclusions  to  which  I  have  come  in  relation  to  them. 

The  subjects  of  which  they  treat  are  of  vital  interest  to  the  country, 
and  I  am  anxious  that  the  opinions  I  entertain  and  express  upon  them 
should  neither  be  misunderstood  nor  misrepresented ;  I  will,  therefore, 
take  the  liberty  of  deviating  from  my  usual  course  of  delivering  my  sen- 
timents (which  has  been  not  even  to  use  notes),  and  Avill  .now  read  the 
answer  which  I  have  prepared,  and  intend,  without  delay,  to  forward  to 
the  same  body  which  adopted  the  resolutions. 

Mr.  White- then  read  his  answer  in  the  followina'  words 

To  the  Honorable  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Tennessee. 

Gentlemen  :  On  the  29th  of  November  last,  in  the  city  of  Washington, 
I  received  a  copy  of  sundry  preambles  and  six  resolutions,  which  appear 
to  have  been  adopted  by  you  on  the  14:th  of  that  month,  instructing  your 
senators,  and  requesting  the  representatives  in  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  how  to  act  on  a  variety  of  subjects. 

An  answer  to  the  resolutions  would  have  been  immediately  given  had  I 
not  believed  it  my  duty  to  remain  at  the  post  assigned  me  by  your  prede- 
cessors, until  some  of  the  matters  specified  in  them' should  be  presented 
to  the  Senate  for  its  action.  Although  I  might  entertain  an  opinion 
different  from  that  employed  by  your  honorable  body,  and  might  be 
unwilling  to  surrender  that  opinion ;  yet  if  no  case  should  be  presented 
for  the  action  of  the  Senate,  in  relation  to  which  such  difference  of 
opinion  existed,  I  could  perceive  no  good  reason  why  I  should^state  what 
course  I  would  pursue,  upon  a  subject,  which  might  never  be  presented 
for  consideration.  Now,  however,  bills  are  presented  to  the  Senate  upon 
some  of  the  subjects  embraced  in  your  resolutions,  and  I  deem  if  my  duty, 
without  further  delay,  to  inform  you,  that  I  cannot  obey  the  instructions 
contained  in  some  of  those  resolutions,  and  respectfully  to  assign  some 
of  the  reasons  which  influence  my  conduct. 

That  I  may  be  the  better  understood,  I  will  notice  each  of  the  resolu- 
tions in  the'order  in  which  they  were  adopted. 

First.  As  one  of  your  senators,  I  am  instructed  "  to  vote  against  the 
chartering  by  Congress  of  a  national  bank." 

This  instruction  corresponds  with  the  opinion  I  have  repeatedly 
expressed  and  acted  on,  and  I  could  now  feel  no  difiiculty  in  conforming 
my  vote  to  your  wishes  on  this  subject. 

Secondly.  I  am  instructed  "to  vote  for,  and  use  all  foir  and  proper 
exertions  to  procure  the  passage  of  the  measure  brought  forward  in  the 


JUDGE   white's   KESIGNATipN.  377 

Congress  of  tho  United  States,  comrdonly  called  the  Sub-Treasury  Bill, 
or  Independeut  Treasury  Bill,"  &c.,  &c. 

The  following,  with  many  other  reasons,  induced  me  to  believe  I  ought 
not  to  comply  with  the  instructions  contained  in  this  resolution. 

It  has  often  hai)pened,  and  will  generally  be  the  case,  that  a  consider- 
able time  must  elapse  between  tlie  receipt  of  public  money  from  tho 
debtor  to  the  United  States,  and  its  disbursement  to  their  creditors ; 
during  tliis  interval  the  money  will  be  much  more  safe  in  the  custody  of 
well  selected  banks  than  it  can  be  in  the  hands  of  individuals,  supposing 
them  to  be  faithful. 

Supposing  any  one  of  your  honorable  body  had  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars  of  his  own  money,  which  he  did  not  intend  to  use  for  six  or  nine 
mouths,^ and  lived  in  the  vicinity  of  a  bank  of  respectable  standing, 
would  he  keep  the  money  in  his  own  house,  under  his  own  care,  or 
would  he  deposit  it  in  bank  for  safe-keeping  until  he  wished  to  use  it? 
If  he  was  a  prudent  man,  regarding  his  own  interest,  he  certainly  would 
deposit  it; 

Are  we  then  justified  in  taking  less  care  of  the  people's  money  than  a 
prudent  man  would  take  of  his  own  ?  With  great  deference  to  your  bet- 
ter judgment,  I  think  not. 

It  often  happens  that  the  receiving  officers  have  on  hand  much  larger 
sums  than  that  named  in  the  supposed  case,  and  as  the  sum  is  increased 
and  the  time  it  is  to  be  kept  between  its  receipt  and  disbursement 
enlarged,  the  danger  of  loss,  when  in  the  hands  of  an  individual,  is 
increased  likewise. 

Again.  All  experience  teaches  us  that-  large  sums  of  public  money  left 
in  the  hands  of  individuals  will  be  misused  and  squandered.  It  will 
either  be  used  by  the  individual  himself  for  his  own  purposes,  or  loaned  to 
importunate  friends  whom  he  may  wish  to  accommodate,  and  who  are 
sure  not  to  be  able  to  return  if  when  called  for. 

It  is  said  banks  are  irresponsible,  therefore  not  to  be  trusted.  In  my 
opinion,  generally,  they  are  more  responsible  than  individuals.  They 
have  more  means  with  which  to  pay,  and  if  they  fail  to  make  payments 
when  required,  they  are  as  ■much  amenable  to  the  process  of  a  court  of 
justice  as  individuals  are ;  and  in  addition,  they  are  to  be  found  with  much 
more  certainty,  as  a  corporation  aggregate  can  very  seldom  abscond,  or 
leave  the  country,  which  an  individual  easily  can,  and  often  does  do  when 
be  misuses  the  public  money. 

"We  need  all  the  checks  which  can  reasonably  be  imposed  on  our 
collecting  and  disbursing  officers.  Banks  have  been  found  to  furnish 
one  highly  beneficial  upon  both  of  these  classes.  By  a  regulation  between 
the  treasury  department  and  each  deposit  bank,  the  latter  has  been 
required  at  short  periods  to  furnish  its  account  current  with  the  treasurer, 
and  on  the  face  of  it  to  show  all  sums  deposited  to  his  credit,  wlien  such 


378  MEMOm    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    "WHITE. 

deposits  were  made,  and  by  whom;  By  comparing  tliis  account  with  tho 
accounts  furnislied  by  the  respective  officers  themselves,  it  can  readily  be 
discbvered  whether  they  are 'misusing  the  public  money  or  not.  By  the 
projjosed  change,  and  allowing  the  collector  or  receiver  .to  be  himself  the 
Jceeper^  until  the  money  is  wanted  for  use,  you  have  no  check  whatever,  and 
the  whole  money  received  by  an  officer  may  be  squandered  before  it  is 
wanted  for  disbursement,  without  any  means  of  detection. 

I,  therefore,  conclude  the  Sub-Treasury  Bill  ought  not  to  be  passed,  if 
there  were  no  other  objections  to  it  save  that  of  the  public  money  being 
less  secure.     But  there  are  other  weighty  objections. 

Tlie  only  plausible  reason  which  can  be  assigned  why  we  should  dis- 
card banks  entirely  and  appoint  sub-treasurers,  keepers  of  the  public 
funds,  must  be,  that  the  banks  are  unworthy  of  confidence. 

If  that  be  so,  does  it  not  necessarily  follow  that  you  ought  either  not 
to  receive  any  bank  notes  in  discharge  of  dues  to  the  government,  or  if 
received,  that  you  should  order  the  officer  with  whom  they  are  deposited 
for  safe-keeping,  immediately  to  call  xipon  the  banks  for  specie  to  their 
amount.  It  is  absurd  to  say  we  will  not  deposit  with  the  bank,  because 
we  have  no  confidence  in  it,  and  at  the  same  time  to  allow  our  officers  to 
receive  bank  notes,  and  retain  them  in  thp  hands  of  our  officer,  up  to  the 
time  we  wish  to  pay  the  money  away.  Tiiere  is  less  probability  that  the 
banks  would  redeem  their  notes  in  specie  wlien  called  on,  than  that  they 
would  deny  the  payment  in  specie  for  money  received  on  deposit. 

The  practice,  then,  of  receiving  nothing  but  specie  from  debtors,  or  of 
immediately  converting  the  notes  received  into  specie,  and  locking  that 
up  until  the  time  of  disbursement  arrives,  must  be  resorted  to,  in  order 
to  carry  out  your  wishes. 

This,  I  apprehend,  would  be  ruinous  to  society.  A  large  portion  of  the 
specie  that  might  otherwise  circulate,  would  be  withdrawn  from  the  use 
of  every  person  a  considerable  portion  of  each  year.  This  would  affect 
the  prices  of  property,  of  labor,  and  of  everytliing  else,  and  would  render 
it  next  to  impossible  for  even  a  prudent  man,  who  happened  to  be  in 
debt,  ever  to  extricate  himself. 

Beside  tliis,  the  heavy  drawg  for  specie  upon  banks,  would  compel 
them,  in  a  short  tinig,  either  to  wind  up  or  to  do  a  very  precarious  busi- 
ness. Whenever  a  suspension  of  specie  payments  woidd  take  place,  we 
would  have  a  depreciated  paper  currency,  on  which  to  dothe  business  of 
the  country,  and  specie  would  become  an  article  of  merchandise.  The 
man  in  office,  or  who  had  a  job  or  contract  with  the  govjernment,  Avould 
receive  his  salary  or  his  pay  in  specie,  which  ho  would  immediately  sell 
for  bank  paper,  receiving  a  premium  of  some  ten  or  fifteen  per  centum, 
and  with  that  paper  pay  his  debts  or  purchase  such  property  as  he  might 
wish.  This  practice  is  at  this  moment  in  operation.  For  every  hundred 
dollars  paid  me  as  a  member  of  Congress,  I  can  receive  one  hundred  and 


JUDGE  wiute's  resignation.  379 

eight  or  iiiiie  dollars  in  bank  notes,  and  with  them  pay  the  landlord  who 
fe6ds,  or  the  tailor  who  clothes  me. 

It  has  appeared  to  me,  if  we  commence  this  entire  operation  which 
your  resolution  contemplates,  and  go  into  this  thorough  hard-  money 
^stem,  we  shall  presently-,  in.  Tennessee  especially,  be  in  a  deplorable 
condition.  Look''  at  its  effects:  all  debts  and  taxes  are  to  be  paid  to  the 
federal  government,  in  hard  money,  or  in  bank  notes,  for  which  the  spe- 
cie will  be  immediately  received,  and  the  specie  thus  received  is  to  be 
locked  up  securely,  \mtil  it  is  paid  out  in  discharge  of  some  debt  due  by 
tlie  governmtent. .  Suppose  our  first  year's  taxes  paid,  in  all  the  States, 
amounting  to  some  twenty-five  or  thirty  millions  of  dollars.  That  is 
only  to  be  returned  into  circulation  when  the  federal  government  pays 
the  debts  which  it  owes.  What  chancy  will  Tennessee  have  to  receive, 
by  federal  disbursement,  any  portion  of  what  she  may  have  paid?  We 
have  no  forts,  no  foundries,  no  arsenals,-  no  fortifications,  no  army,  no 
navy,  navy -yards,  or  dry-docks.  In  short,  we_  have  next  to  no  objects 
Hpon  which  the  federal  government  expends  money ;  therefore  none  of  it 
would  be  returned  to  us.  We  must  pay  up  our  full  proportion  of  all 
indirect  taxes  in  hard  money,  with  a  certainty  that  little  or  none  of  it 
would  be  returned  to  us  by  federal  expenditures,  and  in  the  course  of  a 
very  few  years,  we  must  be  drained!  of  every  hard  dollar  we  now  have. 

There  is  another  class  of  objections  against  this  measure,  entitled,  I 
think,  to  still  more  grave  considerations. 

Tlie  addition  it  will  make  to  the  powers  of  the  federal  executive. 
Every  oflicer  with  which  the  money  is  to  be  deposited,  or  left  for  safe- 
keeping, will  be  appointed  by- the  President,  and  removable  at  his  plea- 
sure. We  might  as  well  give  it  to  the  President  himself,  as  entrust  it  to 
those  Avhom  he  can  and  will  control. 

This  plan  will  multiply  officers  and  increase  considerably  our  expenses 
at  its  commencement,  and  in  the  end,  no  man  can  foresee  the  swarms  of 
dependents  it  may  generate,  and  the  additions  it  may  occasion  to  our 
expenditures  of  the  public  money. 

By  the  use  of  the  patronage  already  belonging  to  that  officer,  we  all 
know  and  feel  that  a  large  portion  of  the  power  vested  in  the  legislative 
department  exists  only  in  name ;  it  is  in  substance  vested  in,  and 
expressed  by,  the  President  as  he, wills;  shall  we,  then,  give  him  a  con- 
trolling power  over  all  the  pecuniary  resources  of  the  federal  govern- 
ment?- For  one,  I  cannot  consent  to  it. 

Lastly,  this  sub-treasury  is  nothing  but  a  stepping-stone  to  a  bank 
created  by  the  federal  government,  bottomed  on  its  own  funds,  attached 
to  the  treasury  department,  and  all  placed  at  the  control  of  the  Presi- 
dent, or  of  those  who  will  never  have  any  will  which  does  not  correspond 
witli  his. 

It  appears  to  me,  no  reasonable  man  can  think  if  we  commence  this 
system  we  are  to  stop  short  of  such  a  bank. 


380  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

Let  one  year  only  pass  with  all  your  revenue  in  specie,  and  that  locked 
up,  your  State  banks  and  paper  currency  deranged,  and  what  then? 
Those  who  may  wish  to  carry  out  this  system  will  then  recur  to  the 
sound  doctrine  advanced  by  the  late  President  Jackson,  "  that  the  money 
of  the  country  ought  not  to  be  kept  locked  up  by  the  government,  any 
more  than  the  arms  belonging  to  the  citizens — both  will  be  sure  to  be 
misused."  And  it  will  be  urged  that  society  is  suffering  for  a  sound  cir- 
culating medium ;  we  must  pass  a  law  authorizing  this  money  to  be 
loaned,  the  interest  will  ease  us  of  the  payment  of  much  taxes,  and  by 
circulating  treasury  notes,  or  drafts  drawn  by  one  of  these  treasurers 
upon  another,  we  will  have  a  sound  paper  currency,  good  everywhere, 
and  bottomed  on  a  metallic  basis.  This  doctrine  will  become  the. demo- 
cratic doctrine,  and  every  man  who  opposes  it  will  be  denounced  as  a 
bank-bought  federalist ;  the  law  will  pass,  and  in  due  form  we  shall  have 
the  Treasury  Banlc  ;  and  what  then  ? 

The  purse  and  the  sword  will  he  united,  and  a  power  to  increase  the 
mirse,  as  need  may  require,  not  by  adding  eagles  and  hard  dollars  to  our 
funds,  but  by  issues  of  paper,  in  such  sums  as  may  be  deemed  necessary 
and  proper.  This  bank,  wjth  its  pecuniary  means,  and  the  credit  and 
resources  it  will  possess,  can  either  destroy  or  render  subservient  to  the 
views  of  the  executive  any  State  banks  which  may  be  in  existence.  The 
whole  moneyed  power,  not  only  of  the  federal  government,  but  of  all 
State  banks,  being  thus  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  President,  he  will  be 
able'  to  control  the  destinies  of  the  country. 

His  w/ZZ  becomes  the'larw  of  ftie.land.  He  will  never  again  have  to 
appeal  to  '■'■  t?ie  soier  second  thought  of  the  peopW''  to  carry  any  favorite 
measure.  His  first  recommendation  will  always  secure  its  speedy  enact- 
ment into  a  law. 

In  the  views  which  I  take  of  this  subject,  I  may  be  in  error;  but  they 
are  sincerely  entertained.  In  the  first  instance,  I  placed  my  vote  against 
it,  under  the  belief  that  such  were  the  sentiments  of  the  people  I  repre- 
sented. Afterwards,  I  was  instructed  by  the  legislature  to  continue  my 
opposition.  I  did  so,  from  a  conviction-  that  I  was  right ;  and  nothing 
would  give  me  more  pleasure  than  to  conform  my  vote  tp  your  wishes, 
if  the  measure  were  an  ordinary  one,  or  if  I  believed  the  error  of  sanction- 
ing it  could  be  corrected;  but  believing,  as  I  do,  that  the  power  once 
granted  .to  the  executive  can  never.be  recalled,  and  that  its  exercige  will 
take  from  the  people  that  freedom  of  thought  and  of  action  which  alone 
entitles  our  government  to  be  considered  free,  I  most  respectfully,  but 
decidedly  state,  that  I  cannot  and  will  not  obey  the  instruction  contained 
in  your  second  resolution. 

Your -third  resolution  unqualifiedly  condemns  the  provisions  of  a  bill 
of  the  last  session,  entitled,  a  bill  to  prevent  the  interference  of  certain 
federal  officers  in  elections,  declares  the  same  to  be  a  violation  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  unqualifiedly  condemns  the  vote  given 


JUDGE  Wtin'E's' RESIGNATION.  381 

5n  favor  of  5ai(l  bill  by  my  colleague  and  myself,  and  instructs  your  Sena- 
tors to  vote  against,  and  to  use  all  fair  and  proper  exertions  to  prevent 
the  passage  of  the  same,  or  any  s'imilar  bill. 

When  my  colleague  and  myself  gave  our  votes  in  favor  of  that  bill, 
Tve  acted  under  the  sfime  solemn  sanction  of  an  oath  to  support  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States,  that  the  members  of  your  honorable  body 
did  when  they  voted  in  favor  of 'this  condemnatory  i-esolutjon.  We  had 
the  benefit  of  very  able  arguments  both  for  and  against  the  bill.  "We 
examined  it  with  all  the  care  we  could,  and  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
it  was  not  unconstitutional,  and  believing  that  the  prevailing  practice  of 
the  President  interfering  in  elections,  both  State  and  federal,  through  the 
instrumentality  of 'officers,  who  hold  their  places  durjng  his  pleasure, 
called  loudly  for  a  remedy  ;  we  voted  in  favor  of  its  passage. 

If  your  decision  was  iinal,  I  would  not  be  so  childish  as  to  ask  of  you 
to  reconsider  the,  constitutional  question. 

To  men  of  ordinary  capacity,  or  equivocal  moral  cliaracter,  I  might 
make  such  a  request,  from  a  belief  that  the  decision  was  a  hasty ^one^ 
produced  by  some  extrfineotLS  influence^  and  that  a  more  deliberate  inves- 
tigation of  the  subject  might  lead  to  a  diflferent  conclusion ;  but  w^hen  I 
reflect  that  the  leading  members  of  that  majority  Avhich  passed  the 
resolution  are  men  as  much  distinguished  by  their  hioral  character  as  by 
their  intellectual  attainments  and  deep  research  on  subjects  connected 
with  constitution,al  law,  and  see  that  my  vote  is  not  only  "  condemned^'''' 
but  "  unqualifiedly  condemned,"  I  cannot  hope  that  one  of  my  humble 
pretensions  could  urge  anything  which  would  occasion  even  a  doubt  in 
your  minds  of  the  correctness  of  your  decision. 

But  there  is  a  higher  earthly  tribunal  than  your  honorable  body;  that 
will  judge  both  your  vote  and  mine^  and  pass  sentence  dispassionately, 
without  any  predisposition  to  xLuqualifiedly  condemn  eitlier  of  us,  but  in 
charity  hoping  that  each  believed,  when  giving  his  vote,  he  was  acting 
correctly.  To  that  tribunal,  then,  our  common  constituents^  through  you, 
their  immediate  representatives,  I  beg  leave  respectfully  and  briefly  to 
assign  some  of  the  reasons  which  influenced  the  vote  complained  of. 

Every  officer  named  in  that  bill  holds  his  office  at  the  %Dill  of  the  Pre- 
sident, and  is  liable  to  be  dismissed  whenever  it  is  the  pleasure  of  the 
President  to  dismi'ss  him.  Each  and  every  one  of  the  offices  is  created 
by  act  of  Congress.  The  qualification  for  the  office,  the  tenure  of  it,  and 
the  duties  to  be  performed  by  the  officers  are,  and  were,  matters  of  legis- 
lative enactment. 

The  President  has  no  power  to  dismiss  or  control  one  of  these  officers, 
merely  because  he  is  President,  but  because  Congress,  Ijy  law^  gave  him 
that  power.  The  bill  itself  expressly  provided  that  all  these  officers 
should  be  secure  in  the  right  to  vote  on  all  elections,  according  to  their 
own  judgment,  and  only  forbid  their  interference  to  control  and  influence 
the  votes  of  others. 


382  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

I  affirm  that  Congress  had  the  power  to  create  these  offices,  or  not,  at 
its  pleasure.  That,  when  they  were  created,  Congress  could  prescribe 
the  duties  of  the  officers.  That,  if  it  had  been  deemed  necessary,  Con- 
gress could  have  enapted  that  the  officers  should  hold  the  office  during 
good  leliavwr  ;  but  that,  if  any  one  of  the  officers  interfered  to  influence 
the  votes  of  others,  in  any  election,  either  State  or  federal,  it  should  be  a 
misdemeanor  in  office,  for  xohich  he  should  he  dismissed. 

When  -the  hill  complained  of  was  ufider '  consideration.  Congress  had 
exactly  the  same  power  over  the  subject  that  it  had  when  the  offices  were 
first  creating.  They  might  have  repealed  the  law  entirely,  and  thus  have 
turned  out  every  one  of  these  officers. 

Suppose,  instead  of  the  hill  complained  of,  a  bill  had  been  introduced 
and  passed,  stating  that,  whereas  these  officers  were  in  the  habit  of  inter- 
fering to  influence  the  votes  of  the  citizens  in  elections,  therefore.  Be  it 
enacted,  that  the  law  creating  their  offices  should  be  repealed,  &c.,  would 
your  honorable  body  venture  the  opinion  that  sucl^  law  would  have  been 
unconstitutional,  and  that  these,  oncers  would  still  have  remained  in 
office  ?     I  think  not. 

On  the  question  of  constitutional  pow^r,  there  can  be  no  distinction 
between  the  case  supposed  and  the  bill  complained  of.  If  the  one  would 
.have  been  constitutional,  so  is  the  other. 

Prior  to  the  year  1820,  these  officers  held  their  office  during  pleasure. 
Congress  tken  believed  many  of  them  had  misdemeaned  thems^elves,  were 
defaulters,  &c. ;  and,  with  a  view  to  provide  a  remedy,  on  the  15th  of 
May,  in  that  year,  an  act  was  passed  changing  their  tenure,  and  limiting 
each  of  them  to  the  term  of  four  years,  and  made  them  removable  at 
pleasure  within  these  four  years.  Has  it  ever  been  thought  that  act  was 
unconstitutional?  Not  at  all.  Yet  such  an  objection  might  have  been 
urged  with  much'  more  force  in  that  case  than  in  this. 

The  only  reason  assigned  in  your  resolution  why  this  bill  was  imcon- 
stitutional  is,  that  it  took  from  these  officers  the  liberty  of  speech,  and 
the  Constitution  provides  that  "  Congress  shall  pass  no  law  abridging  the 
freedom  of  speech  and  of  the  press." 

This  provision  in  the  Constitution  was  intended  for  the  safety  and 
protection  of  the  common  citizen  who  holds  no  office.  It  Avas  foreseen 
that  those  in  office  might  abtise  their  trust,  and  to  protect  themselves 
against  exposure,  might  pass  laws  restraining  the-citizens  from  censuring 
them,  either  in  speeches  or  through  the  press.  Now,  in  your  resolution, 
you  exactly  reverse  the  matter,  and  suppose  it  was  intended  to  protect 
the  instruments  of  the  President,  who  hold  office  at  his  will,  in  their 
endeavors  to  influence  and  mislead  the  people  in  elections.  During  the 
administration  of  the  elder  Mr.  Adams,  many  complaints  were  made  and 
charges  urged,  both  in  speeches  and  through  the  press,  ly  the  citizens., 
against  him,  and  those  in  office  under  him.  ^Vith  a  view  to  silence  the 
citizens,  and  to  maintain  and  shield  those  in  office,  the  sedition  law  was 


JUDGE  white's  resignation.  383 

passed.     The  Republicans,  one  and  all,  condemned  it  as  unconstitutional 
and  unjust,  and  they  were  right  in  sucli  condemnation. 

Your  resolution  maintains  -now,  exactly  the  same  doctrines  then 
advanced  by  the  fedoi-alists.  They  wished  to-  silence  the  people,  that 
they  might  retain,  their  places  and  power,  and  your  resolution  -seeks  to 
allow  the  officeholders  to  go  forth  with  all  their  power  and  influence,  to 
mislead  and  corntpt  the  people — obtain,  their  votes  in  elections,  and  thu3 
retain  their  offices  with  all  their  emoluments. 

Does  your  honorable  body  intend  -to  affirm  that  Congress  has  no  power 
to  regulate  the  conduct  of  this  class  of  officers  ? 

Are  they  to  be  allowed  to  go  forth  on  days  of  election,  and  with  a  view 
to  procure  votes  for  the  President  or.his  favorites,  promise  money  or  offices^ 
jois  or  contracts,  hy  y^hich' much  money  may  be  made  with  but. little 
labpr  ?  The  officeholder,  in  making  these  .promises  to  influence  voters, 
■would  be  using  his  powers  of  sp)eech,  which  the  resolution  affirms  Con- 
gress cannot  abridge  or  lessen.  If  the  proposition  can  be  maintained, 
then  Congress  had  better  go  home,  and  yield  up  everything  to  the  Presi- 
dent, and  the  corps  who  hold  office  at  his  pleasure. 

AVe  will,  after  a  little  reflection,  perceive  that  this  resolution  not  only 
unqualifiedly  condemns  your  senators  for  their  vote,  but  necessarily  the 
conduct  and  opinions  of  others  whom  the  country  has  most  delighted  to 
honor. 

The  only  reason  assigned  in  your  resolution  why  this  bill  was  uncon- 
stitutional is,  that  it  abridged  the  freedom  of  speech. 

If  you  are  correct,  how  dare  Mr.  Jelferson,  ."  the  Apostle  of  Liberty," 
inhis  letter  to  Goverjior  McKean,  use  the  language  he  did  on  this  subject? 
Still  more,  when  he  came  into  office  as  President,  why  did  he  dare  to 
issue  his  circular  letter,  prohibiting  this  class  of  officers,  on  pain  of  dis- 
missal, from  interfering  in  elections  farther  than  to  give  their  own  votes? 
fie,  was  sworn  to  support  the  Constitution,  and  if  Congress  abridges  the 
freedom  of  speech,  secured  by  the  Constitution,  by  the  6nacTments  pro- 
posed in  this  bill,  it  follows  clearly  that  the  President  in  his  circular 
violated  the  same  provision,  by  pronouncing  the  like  penalty  for  the  lilce 
offence  ? 

I  defy  any  person  to  condemn  the  one  without  condemning  the  other  • 
unless,  indeed,  we  suppose  there  is  a  class  of  politicians  who  believe  the 
Constitution  does  not  and  ought  not  to  impose  any  restraint  upon  the 
President. 

I  fear  such  a  sect  has  lately  sprung  up,  and  is  increasing.  It  cannot  be 
too  speedily  suppressed. 

The  late  President,  General  Jackson,  in  his  inaugural  address,  when 
'•  he  was  fresh  from  the  people,"  inculcated  the  same  doctrine  with  Mr. 
Jefferson.  "  To  prevent  the  patronage  of  the  government  from  being 
brought  into  conflict  with  the  freedom  of  elections,  was  a  duty  inscribed 


384  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

in  characters  too  legible  to  be  misnnclerstoO(l,"&c.,  was  the  strong  lah 
guage  he  then  used.  How  was  the  duty  to  be  discharged  ?  Did  we  not 
one  and  all,  believe  he  would  discharge  it  as  Mr.  Jefferson  had  done  ?  If, 
then,  these  Presidents  could,  without  violating  the  Constitution,  prohibit 
these  officers  from  interfering  in  elections,  why  could  not  Congress  by  its 
enactments  prohibit  them  likewise  ? 

No  satisfactory  answer  can  be  given  to  this  question. 

The  President  already  had  the  power  vested  in  hira  to  dismiss  these  oflB- 
cers  at  his  pleasure ;  and  Congress  unquestionably  had  the  power  to  limit 
his  discretion,  by  specifying  the  cases  in  which  he  should  exercise  it.  If, 
then,  my  colleague  and  I  erred  on  this  question  of  power,  with  great 
deference  I  subrhh  that,  the  company  with  which  our  opinions  were 
associated  ought,  at  least,  to  have  softened  the  asperity  of  the  language 
in  which  our  condemnation  was  pronounced.  If  there  was  any  one  sub- 
ject above  all  others,  upon  which  I  believed  my  colleague  and  I  could 
not  mistake  the  sentiment  of  our  constituents,  it  was  that  embraced  in 
that  bill. 

To  prevent  the  President,  through  those  officers,  from  interfering  in 
elections,  was  a  theme  upon  which  the  friends  of  the  late  President 
(Jackson)  had  dwflt  most,  both  in  and  but  of  Congress.  In  1826,  a 
committee  of  the  Senate,  of  which  I  was  a  very  humble  member,  through 
their  chairman  had  made  a  most  able  report,  the  principles  of  which 
were  applauded  by  the  whole  party,  and  ly  our  State  iniyarticular.  Upon 
them,  mainly.  General  Jackson  came  into  power;  he  gave  them  his 
solemn  sanction  in  his  inaugural  address,  in  presence  of  thousands  of  wit- 
nesses. I  had  been  twice  elected  after  my  opinions  were  well  known 
upon  this  subject,  and  now,  when  I  endeavor  faithfully  to  carry  them 
out,  to  be  unqualifiedly  condemned  for  doing  so,  and  that  by  those  who 
t\iQn.  prof essed  to  think  as  I  sincerely  did,  was  what  I  did  not  anticipate. 
I  am  sure  that,  upon  this  subject,  my  practice  has  corresponded  with  my 
professions.  Still,  I  should  feel  degraded  if  I  were  to  pronounce  any  old 
associate  a  traitor,  or  liken  him  to  Benedict  Arnold,  because  at  this  time 
he  disagrees  with  me  in  opinion. 

They  are  greatly  mistaken  who  suppose  the  object  of  this  bill  was  to 
take  from  this  class  of  officers  any  right  whatever.  Precisely  the  reverse 
was  the  intention.  It  was  to  emancipate  them  from  the  slavish  hondage 
in  which  they  were  held.  It  was  to  enable  every  man  of  them  to  vote 
according  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  jiulgment,  and  to  absolve  them  ft-om 
the  painful  alternative  of  being  compelled  to  not  only  vote,  but  to  elec- 
tioneer for  candidates  not  of  their  choice,  bnt  of  the  President,  on  pain  of' 
dismissal  from  office. 

The  great  object  was,  to  prevent  the  President  from  controlling  the 
people  in  the  choice  of  their  officers,  State  and  federal.  This  class  of  offi- 
cers, whose  daily  bread  for  their  families,  depended  on  executive  favor. 


JUDGE   white's    resignation.  385 

were  constrained,  as  a  part  of  their  official  duty,  not  only  to  vote 
as  the  President  wished,  but  to  endeavor  to  influence  others  to  do  so 
likewise.  If  they  did  not  perform  tliis  duty  they  we;-e  dismissed,  and 
with  their  families  left  to  starve.  An  enlightened  statesman  once  called 
them  the  "  enlisted  soldiers  of  the  President." 

A  politician  who  knows  as  well  as  any  other  man  the  motives  by 
which  men  are  influenced  in  relation  to  elections,  says : — "  Whenever  he 
sees  an  officeholder  interfering  in  elections,  he  concludes  he  is  thinTcing  of 
his  salary  and  his  hread,  and  is  a  very  tinft  adviser  of  the  peo2)le.''''  By 
the  passage  of  this  bill  it  was  hoped  the  instruments  for  misleading  the 
people  would  be  taken  from  the  President,  that  these  "  enlisted  soldiers  " 
would  be  discliarged  from  electioneering  duties,  and  yet  receive  their 
pay ;  and  that  if  they  performed  the  duties  of  their  offices  faithfully,  they 
might  safely  vote  according  to  the  dictates  of  their  own  judgment,-and 
yet  be  secure  in  their  "  salaries  and  their  daily  bread." 

By  your  fourth  resolution,  as  one  of  your  senators,  I  am  instructed  to 
"  vote  against  the  measure  heretofore  brought  before  Congress,  which 
had  for  its  object,  the  distribution  among  the  States  of  the  proceeds  of  the 
sales  of  the  public  lands." 

In  justice  to  myself,  as  well  as  to.  my  constituents,  I  must  be  permitted 
to  state  the  manner  in- which  my  mind  has  operated  on  this  subject  at 
diffierent  times  and  under  diiferent  circumstances. 

When  a  bill  was  first  introduced,  having  such  distribution  as  that 
spoken  of  for  its  object,  I  voted  against  its  passage,  and  in  favor  of  the 
veto  of  the  Chief  Magistrate,  on  the  ground  that  no  suoh  distribution 
ought  to  be  made  until  the  public  debt  was  all  paid. 

Upon  looking  into  the  deeds,  by  which  those  lands  were  ceded  to  the 
United  States,  by  the  respective  States,  I  found  that  they  were  conveyed  in 
trust  to  pay  out  of  the  proceeds  of  their  sales,  our  public  debt  then 
owing  by  the  United  States,  and  that  the  residue  should  be  for  the  joint 
benefit  of  each  of  the  several  States,  including  those  making  the  ces- 
sions. 

At  that  time  a  portion  of  the  public  debt  was  unpaid,  and  I  deemed  it 
improper  to  distribute  any  part  of  this  fund  until  the  debt  was  fully  dis- 
charged, that  being  the  primary  object  of  the  donor. 

When  a  like  bill  was  afterwards  introduced,  I  not  only  voted  for  it 
but  gave  it  such  support  as  my  feeble  abilities  enabled  me. 

By  this  time  the  public  debt  had  been  fully  paid,  and  we  had  a  very 
large  sum  in  the  treasury,  beyond  the  necessary  wants  of  the  federal 
government. 

I  could  not  doubt  the  power  of  Congress  to  make  the  distribution, 
because  there  was  an  express  trust  that  this  fund  should  be  for  the  use 
of  the  respective  States  ;  we  had  a  large  sum  on  hand  which  I  though^, 
in  honesty,  belonged  to  the  States,  and  the  portion  l;elongiug  to  Tcnues- 

25 


386  MEMOIE    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

see,  I  believed,  -would  be  bigbly  useful  in  enabling  her  to  make  internal, 
improvements,  and  in  prpviding  a  system  for  the  education  of  those  who 
might  be  unable  to  bear  the  expenses  of  educating  themselves.  In  addi- 
tion to  these  considerations,  I  perceived  if  this  large  sum  was  not  dis- 
tributed, it  would  encourage  a  system  of  extravagant  expenditure  incbn- 
sietent.with  the  welfare  of  the  country. 

I  still  believe  these  views  were  sound,  and  that  if  I  committed  any 
error,  it  was  not  giving  my  support  to  the  first  bill  as  well  as  the  last. 
1  believe  it  would  be  unwise,  perhaps  unconstitutional,  for  the  federal 
government  to  impose  taxes  for  the  purposes  of  collecting  more  money 
than  is  necessary  to  carry  out  its  affairs,  to  the  end  that  it  might  have  a 
surplus  to  distribute  among  the  States :  but  this  fund  stands  on  a  dif- 
ferent ground ;  it  is  a  trust  fund  which  belongs  not  to  the  federal, 
but  to  the  State  government. 

The  ordinary  duties  necessary  and  proper  for  the  regulation  of  our 
commerce  with  foreign  nations,  ought  to  be  sufficient  to  bring  into  the 
treasury,  as  much  money  as  would  defray  the  economical  expenses  of 
the  federal  government,  and  each  of  the  States  ought  to  receive  it» 
fair  proportion  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  the  public  lands. 

I  consider  Tennessee  as  honestly  entitled  to  her  proportion  of  this 
fund,  as  any  of  your  honorable  body  is  to  a  tract  of  land  devised  to 
him  by  his  father. 

It  appears  to  me,  even  at  this  time,  onr  State  very  much  needs  her 
proportion  of  this  fund,  and  that  in  a  short  time  we  shall  be  much  more 
in  want  of  it. 

Your  honorable  body  may  be  satisfied  that  a  majority  of  our  citizens 
are  willing  to  relinquish  their  interest  in  this  fund,  but  I  am  not  so 
satisfied,  and  as  a  senator  in  Congress,  I  will  not  do  any  act  by  which 
such  an  idea  is  to  be  sanctioned. 

It  may  be  in  the  course  of  a  very  short  time,  that  this  fund  will  be 
indispensably  necessary  to  save  our  citizens  from  heavy  taxation,  and  I 
should  never  forgive  myself,  if  by  yielding  to  your  instructions,  I  did  an 
act  which  produced  a  serious  injury  to  the  people,  who  have  so  long 
honored  me  with  their  confidence. 

By  the  last  clauses  in  your  fourth  resolution,  I  am  instructed  to  vote 
for  graduating  the  price  of  the  public  lands,  and  for  granting  pre-emption 
rights  to  occupants. 

These  instructions  correspond  with  the  opinions  I  have  maintained  and 
acted  on,  therefore,  I  should  find  no  difliculty  in  conforming  to  your 
wishes  in  relation  to  them. 

In  the  fifth  resolution,  your  instructions  are  "to  vote  for  and  use  all 
fair  and  proper  exertions  to  procure  the  passage  of  a  law  repealing  tlie 
duties  on  imported  salt." 

This  subject  has  been  before  the  Senate  on  several  occasions  since  I 


JUDGE   WHITE  8    RESIGNATION.  387 

have  been  a  member,  and  my  vptes  have  ever  been  in  favor  of  removing 
this  duty,  and  I  should  still  conform  my  conduct  to  my  settled  convic- 
tion, that  my  past  course  on  this  subject  has  been  correct. 

In  your  sixth  resolution  you  state,  that  yon  "  lieartily  approve  the 
leading  measures  and  policy  of  the  Administrations  of  Andrew  Jackson 
and  Martin  Van  Buren,  and  "  instruct  "  your  senators  to  support  in  good 
faith,  the  leading  measures  and  policy,  as  brouglit  forward  and  advocated 
by  the  present  President  of  the  United  States,  and  to  use  all  fair  and 
proper  exertions  to  carry  out,  sustain,  and  accomplish  tlie  same." 

The  phraseology  of  this  resolution  is  so  general  and  indefinite,  that  1 
am  not  sure  I  comprehend  the  meaning  of  your  honorable  body;  but 
believe  you  intend  that  I  shall  support  all  the  leading  measures  of  the 
Chief  Magistrate,  as  well  those  hereafter  to  be  brought  forward  as  those 
heretofore  recommended. 

To  instructions  of  this  description,  I  could  not  with  propriety,  pay  any 
attention  whatever.  ' 

Our  fathers  and  statesmen  believed  they  had  done  much  towards  the 
security  of  civil  liberty,  when,  by  the  Constitution,  they  divided  the 
great  powers  conferred  into  three  departments^  each,  in  its  sphere,  inde- 
pendent of  the  other  two.  These  were  the  legislative,  the  executive, 
and  the  judicial. 

If  the  powers  of  any,  two  of  these  departments  should  be  placed  in  the 
same  hands,  the  whole  machinery  of  the  government  is  destroyed,  and 
the  checks  interposed  are  removed. 

You  instruct  your  senators  to  conform  their  votes  on  all  the  leading 
measures,  to  the  will  of  the  President,  who  is  at  the  head  of  the  execu- 
tive department.  If  you  have  a  right  to  give  such  instructions,  and  your 
senators  are  bound  to  obey,  every  other  legislature  in  the  Union  has  the 
game  right,  and  their  senators  would  be  equally  bound  to  yield  obedience. 

Why  not  let  the  President  at  once  make  the  law,  and  then  execute  it? 
If  we  are  bound  to  vote  as  he  recommends,  it  is  a  solemn  mockery  to 
consult  us  at  all.  The  law  would  not  be  the  will  of  the  Senate,  but  the 
will  of  the  President.  By  this  process  the  whole  legislative  power  woidd 
be  yielded  up  and  surrendered  to  the  executive. 

I  have  been  educated  to  believe,  that  continued  watchfulness,  and  con- 
stant jealousy  of  those  in  power,  are  essential  to  the  preservation  of 
liberty. 

Your  honorable  body  would  now  teach  me  a  different  lesson,  and 
instead  of  being  a  sentinel  on  the  watch-tower,  to  guard  the  liberty  of  my 
constituents,  I  am  to  betake  myself  to  slumber,  examine  nothing,  but 
vote  on  all  leading  measures  as  the  President  may  recommend. 

If  this  be  the  kind  of  service  to  which  your  senators  are  to  be  applied 
I  never  can  perform  it,  and  feel  myself  unsuited  to  a  station,  which  I 
have  heretofore  considered  most  honorable  as  well  as  confidential. 


388  MEMOIE    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

After  your  resolutions  shall  have  performed  their  wonted  office  and  my 
resignation  shall  have  been  received,  ie/ore  electing  my  successor,  I  hope 
in  your  wiscfom  you  -Will  either  rescind  or  expunge  this  sixth  resolution. 
Our  common  constituents,  the  free  and  chivalrous  citizens  of  Tennessee, 
I  hope  will  ever  be  represented  in  the  Senate  by  those  whose  principles 
and  feelings  are  in  accordance  with  their  own ;  and  while  this  resolution 
is  suffered  to  remain,  no  man  can  accept  that  high  station  but  one  who 
is  himself  enslaved,  and  fit  only  to  represent  those  in  the.  like  condition 
with  himself. 

I  have  now  troubled  you  with  all  the  remarks  I  deem  it  necessary  to 
make  upon  your  six  resolutions,  taken  separately,  but  do  not  feel  that'  I 
will  have  discharged  my  whole  duty  until  I  have  shown  the  deduction  to 
be  drawn  from  them  when  connectedly  considered. 

They  contain  the  political  creed  of  the  present  Chief  Magistrate  of  the 
United  States,  as  expressed  through  his  friends  in  the  Tennessee  legisla-. 
ture;  and  what  is  it? 

By  the  2d  resolution  it  is  proved,  he  wishes  the  whole  moneyed  power 
of  the  United  States  vested  in  him,  and  subject  to  his  control. 

By  the  3d  it  is  proved  he  will  not  agree  that  the  patronage  and  power 
he  now  exercises  shall  be  either  lessened  or  regulated  by  law. 

By  the  4th,  it  is  proved  that  in  order  to  have  full  coffers,  he  wishes  the 
States  to  surrender  their  right  to  the  moneys  arising  from  the  sales  of  the 
public  lands,  and 

By  the  6th,  it  is  proved  that  he  wishes  Congress  compelled  to  vote  for 
every  leading  measure  he  may  recommend,  and  I  am  instructed  in  good 
faith  to  give  my  aid  to  maintain  this  creed. 

These  instructions  I  cannot  and  will  not  obey.  So  far  from  it,  my 
creed  upon  these  points  is :  ■ 

1st.  That  the  power  over  the  public  purse  ought  to  be  constantly  kept 
under  the  control  of  the  legislature. 

2d.  That  the  patronage  as  well  as  the  expenditures  of  the  executive  are 
already  too  large,  and  ought  to  be  reduced. 

3dv  That  instead  of  surrendering  the  rights  of  the  States  to  any  portion 
of  the  public  moneys,  they  ought  to  adliere  to  tlioso  rights,  and  in  due 
season  provide  for  a  fair  distribution  of  the  land  funds ;  and 

Lastly,  for  no  consideration  ought  we  to  agree  that  any  other  portion 
of  the  legislative  power  shall  be  vested,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  in 
the  President,  save  that  which  is  already  vested  in  him  by  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States. 

At  last,  no  person  can  help  seeing  that  the  difference  between  your 
honorable  body  and  myself  is,  that  you  wish  to  add  to  the  power  and 
patronage  of  the  executive,  I  wish  to  lessen  his  power  and  patronage. 

On  the  decision  of  this  contest  by  the  American  people,  in  my  opinion, 
the  liberty  of  the  counti-y  depends.    Should  your  creed  prevail,  ere  long 


JUDGE  white's  kesignation.  389 

,the  whole  legislative  power,  vested  in  Congress  by  the  Constitution, 
will  be  transferred,  substantially,  to  the  Pi-esident,  and  the  only  use  of 
Oouo'ress  will  be  to  stand  between  the  President  and  public  odium^  when 
laws  are  enacted  which  are  disapproved  by  the  people. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  election  of  State  officers,  and  State  legislation, 
will  be  regulated  according  to  the  will  of  the  executive  of  the  Union, 
Should  mine  prevail,  the  States  will  retain  the  powers  they  now  possess ; 
the  powers  of  the  federal  government  Avill  remain  divided  into  different 
departments  in  substance  as  well  as  form. 

Which  of  these  creeds  will  best  secure  the  liberty,  the  happiness  and 
prosperity  of  the  people,  I  cheerfully  submit  for  decision  to  the  Freemen 
of  Tennessee. 

In  England,  this  would  be  the  common  contest  between  i\\Q  prerogative 
of  the  crown  and  the  privileges  of  the  people.  Those  maintaining  your 
side  would  be  called  tories,  those  maintaining  mine  would  be  called 
wJiigs. 

Here  it  is  a  contest  between  the  patronage  of  the  President  and  the 
right  of  suffrage  of  the  people.  I  will  not  at  present  give  those  who 
maintain  your  creed  any  name — you  may  give  those  who  maintain  mine 
any  one  you  choose, 

"Karnes  are  nothing  with  me."  My  motto  is,  "Principles  in  prefer- 
ence -to  men ;  "  while  I  sometimes  think  that  of  some  of  my  opponents 
ought  to  be,  "  Men  without  principles ; "  though  I  would  be  sorry  to 
intimate  that  such  a  motto  would  suit  your  honorable  body, 

I  shall  trouble  you  with  no  further  observations  on  these  important 
topics.  It  has  been  my  aim  to  state  my  opinions  with  candor,  and  to 
maintain  them  with  firmness ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  to  treat  your  hon- 
orable body  with  the  most  perfect  respect. 

I  was  called  to  the  service  of  my  State,  fifteen  years  ago,  without  any 
solicitation  on  iny  part.  "With  reluctance  I  accepted  the  high  station  I 
now  occupy.  I  have  been  continued  in  it,  perhaps,  too  long  for  the 
interest  of  the  country.  I  have  been  thrice  elected,  by  the  unanimous 
vote  of  your  predecessors.  My  services  have  been  rendered  in  times  of 
high  party  excitement — sometimes  threatening  to  burst  asunder  the  bonds 
of  this  Union — and  your  resolutions  contain  the  ?iigh  compliment  that 
bitter  political  opponents  can  find  only  a  solitary  vote  worthy,  in  their 
judgment,  of  '■'' unqualified  condemnation.''^ 

I  hope  it  will  be  in  your  power  to  select  a  successor  who  can  bring 
into  the  service  of  the  State  more  talents — I  feel  a  proud  consciousness, 
that  more  purity  of  intention,  or  more  unremitting  industry,  he  never  can. 

For  the  sake  of  place.,  I  will  never  cringe  to  power.  You  have  instructed 
me  to  do  those  things  which,  entertaining  the  opinions  I  do,  I  fear  I 
would  not  \)Q  forgiven  for.,  either  in  this  world  or  in  the  next ;  and  prac- 
tising upon  the  creed  I  have  long  professed,  I  hei-eby  tender  to  you  my 


390  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

resignation  of  the  trust  confided  to  me,  as  one  of  the  senators  from  the 

State  of  Tennessee  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 

Allow  me  to  add  my  sincere  prayer  that  the  Governor  of  the  Universe 

may  so  over-rule  our  dissemiom  as  to  secure  the  liberty  and  promote  tha 

prosperity  of  our  common  constituents. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  gentlemen, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

Hit.  L.  White. 
Senate  Chamber,  Jan.  11, 1840. 

After  which  he  proceeded  and  said : 

Mr.  President^I  liave  now  finished  my  task ;  lienceforth,  I  am  to  cease 
being  a  member  of  this  body.  I  cannot  share  with  former  associates,  the 
honors^  the  privileges^  or  the  emoluments  of  a  senator  in  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States.  At  the  same  time,  I  will  be  relieved  from  my  portion 
of  the  labors^  and  from  sharing  with  you  the  high  responsibilities  which 
necessarily  pertain  to  the  station. 

In  taking  my  leave  of  you,  in  the  utmost  sincerity  my  prayers  are,  that 
collectively  and  individually  you  may  be  enabled  to  pursue  a  course, 
which  wiU  afford  you  the  highest  comforts  in  this  life ;  and  that  your 
labors  may  be  so  blessed  as  to  secure  you  the  grateful  remembrance  of 
the  present  and  all  succeeding  generations. 

His  retirement  from  the  Senate  is  thus  described  by  the  corres- 
pondent of  the  "  Knoxville  Times : " 

V  I 

Washington,  Jan.  tSth. 
The  Hon.  Hugh  L.  "White  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Senate  to-day.     The 
Senate  chamber  was  crowded  with  members  of  the  House,  and  the  gal- 
leries thronged  with  citizens  and  strangers  attending  to  see  this  veteran 
Statesman  quit  the  field  in  which  he  had  so  long  and  so  faithfully  toiled. 

■  Speaking  of  his  letter  to  the  legislature,  the  writer  says : 

It  is  a  most  able  paper,  giving  at  its  conclusion  a  short  review  of  his 
political  life.  It  was  received  in  the  most  profound  silence,  and  created 
deep  feeling.  His  remarks  on  the  resolutions  of  the  legislature  instructing 
him  to  vote  for  and  sustain  the  leading  measures  of  the  Administration 
were  very  severe.  Ho  then  bade  adieu  to  the  senators,  tendering  them, 
individually  and  collectively,  his  best  wishes  for  their  happiness,  and 
remarking  he  had  now  no  share  in  the  honors  of  that  body,  and  was 
excused  from  any  participation  in  its  labors.  Judge  White's  old  frienda 
went  up  and  shook  him  cordially  by  the  hand,  as  he  stood  by  the  Jire- 


JUDGE  wnrrE''8  resignation.  391 

place,  in  view  of  every  one,  and  expressed  their  regret  at  parting  with 
an  "  old  soldier,"  who  had  so  faithfully  served  his  country.  Messrs.  Clay, 
Southard,  and  Preston  were  among  the  rest.  It  was  a  proud  day  in  the 
history  of  Hugh  L.  White.  He  has  left  the  Senate  with  the  pleasant 
consciousness  of  having  never  failed  in  his  duty  to  the  people.  His  hands 
are  not  soiled  with  the  public  plunder,  nor  his  heart  stained  with  either 
treason  or  hypocrisy.  Had  the  old  farmers  of  Knox— had  the  people 
of  Tennessee  witnessed  the  scene,  how  would  their  eyes  have  flashed 
with  virtuous  indignation,  and  their  lips  muttered  of  future  revenge " 


ii 


The  "National  Intelligencer"  thus  notices  Judge  White's  retire- 
ment :  ' 

The  Senate  chamber  has  rarely  presented  a  scene  of  more  solemn 
Interest  than  that  exhibited  yesterday  by  the  resignation  of  Judge  White. 
The  universal  estimation  in  which  this  venerable  citizen  was  held  by 
men  of  all  parties — his  long  services — the  unquestionable  honor  of  his 
character,  and  his  antique  sternness  of  virtue,  combined  to  make  him,  at 
such  a  moment,  the  object  of  great  and  just  interest.  And  well  was  this 
interest  sustained  by  the  able,  eloquent,  and  dignified  document,  which 
he  read  to  the  profoundly  attentive  Senate.  There  has  rarely  been  a 
more  solemn  sacrifice  upon  the  altar  of  party. 

A  correspondent  of  the  "  Cincinnati  Gazette,"  writing  as  a  retired 
citizen  of  Campbell  county,  thus  speaks  of  Judge  White's  letter  of 
resignation : 

Me.  Editor:  Although  an  obscure  individual,  of  a  remote  spot  in 
Campbell  County,  Ky.,  there  occasionally  falls  into  my  hands  a  news- 
paper, by  private  conveyance.  Some  days  since  a  gentleman  of  Newport, 
Ky.,  handed  me  your  paper  of  the  6th  inst.,  in  which  was  published  the 
Hon.  Hugh  L.  White's  letter  of  resignation  to  the  legislature  of  Tennessee. 

This  letter  of  Judge  White's  is  a  strong  document.  It  is  couched  in 
terms  which  show  the  great  depth  of  his  intellect,  and  the  incorrupti- 
bility of  his  heart.  As  an  expose  of  the  great  political  heresies  of  the  day, 
it  is  pre-eminent.  His  strictures  upon  the  spirit  of  the  Tennessee  resolu- 
tions are  so  palpable,  that  the  absurdities  are  made  manifest  even  to  "  the 
wayfaring  man." 

What  does  the  language  of  the  Tennessee  resolutions  convey,  but  the 
precise  doctrines  of  passive  obedience  and  non-resistance,  which  came 
into  repute  immediately  after  the  abdication  of  Richard  Cromwell,  and 
upon  the  accession  of  Charles  II.  to  the  throne  of  England.  This  vasal- 
age  was  opposed,  indeed,  by  the  enemies  of  the  crown,  and  here  (1660) 
we  date  the  origin  of  the  distinction  of  whig  and  tory  ;  the  whigs  oppoa- 


392  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

ing  the  crown,  the  tories  advocating  it.  But  in  Judge  "White  we  had  a 
senator  who  was  not  that  pliant  sycophant,  that,  "for  the  sake  of  place," 
would  yield  his  principles  and  become  the  mere  tool  of  the  President. 
Beholding  the  corrupt  and  dangerous  tendency  of  the  resolutions,  he 
spurned,  with  indignation,  their  propositions,  and  by  his'  resignation  has 
given  Tennessee  the  opportunity  to  fill  his  place  with  some  one  more 
flexible  and  temporizing.  But  in  his  response,  he  has  exhibited  facts 
which  deserve  the  deep  contemplation  of  every  American  citizen.  He 
has  shown  that  submissiveness  to  the  President's  will  on  the  part  of  our 
legislators,  or  their  constituents,  would  but  presage  the  wrecTc  of  our 
boasted  republic.  Yea !  it  would  but  augur  the  speedy  destruction  of  all 
that  renders  us  happy  and  free. 

1 
When  Judge  White's  letter  of  resignation  was  read  before  the 
House  of  Representatives  of  the  General  Assembly  on  the  28th  Jan., 
General  Jacobs  moved  that  the  letter  be  entered  at  large  upon  the 
journals,  which  motion  was  accompanied  by  the  following  remarks  : 

Mr.  Speaker  :  I  request  the  indulgence  of  the  House  for  a  single 
moment,  while  I  make  a  few  remarks  in  relation  to  the  individual  who  is 
the  subject  of  the  resolution  which  I  have  just  had  the  honor  of  submit- 
ting ;  to  the  adoption  of  which  I  trust  there  will  not  be  a  single  dissent- 
ing voice. 

I  wish  not,  I  intend  not,  sir,  on  this  occasion  to  arouse  a  single  party 
feeling,  or  to  add  a  solitary  splinter  to  the  political  flame  which  is  alre-ady 
burning  with  too  intense  a  heat  among  us.  I  should  do  injustice  to  the 
distinguished  author  of  the  communication  which  has  just  been  read,  as 
well  as  to  my  own  feelings,  were  I  to  attempt  to  do  so.  With  the  act  of 
the  majority  of  the  legislature  of  Tennessee,  which  has  compelled  him  to 
retire  from  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  I  have  nothing,  at  this  time, 
to  do  ;  it  is  before  the  tribunal  of  the  people  whom  we  represent,  and  it 
is  their  province  to  pass  judgment  upon  it. 

In  my  boyhood,  Mr.  Speaker,  I  was  taught  to  reverence  the  name  of 
Hugh  L.  White,  and  I  have  lived  to  witness  the  reality  of  all  that  my 
youthful  imagination  had  pictured  of  this  truly  good  and  great  man.  I 
liave  known  him  intimately  for  more  than  twenty  years :  I  have  seen  him 
at  the  bar,  on  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State,  and  on  the 
floor  of  Congress :  I  have  known  him  in  the  domestic  and  social  circle, 
and  in  the  heat  and  turmoil  of  political  agitations,  and  can  bear  testimony 
to  his  claims  to  the  character  of  a  profound  lawyer,  an  able  and  impar- 
tial judge,  a  consistent  politician,  a  pure  patriot,  and  an  honest  man, 
I  have  seen  him  under  circumstances  the  most  trying,  and  amid  afflictions 
the  most  severe,  when  one  after  another  of  a  numerous,  most  interesting 
and  amiable  family  were  cut  off"  in  the  prime  of  youth,  and  yet  has  he 


JUDGE  -white's  eesignation.  393 

never  been  absent  from  his  post,  or  swerved  from  the  path  of  duty  And 
rectitude.  Bold,  •firm,  manly  and  independent,  both  in  his  private  and 
political  department ;  possessing  an  intellect,  clear,  powerful  and  discrimi- 
nating ;  pure,  spotless  and  uncontaminated  by  the  pollutions  of  party,  and 
unawed  by  the  strong  arm  of  power,  this  venerable  statesman  lias  kept 
"  the  even  tenor  of  his  way,"  regardful  only  of  his  country  and  his  coun- 
try's good.  He  has  never  cringed  for  favor,  or  shrunk  from  responsi 
bility  ;  he  has  never  feared  anything  but  dishonor,  or  loved  anything 
better  than  his  country. 

Kor,  sir,  is  his  private  character  less  pure  and  unexceptionable,  than 
his  political  career  has  been  consistent  and  patriotic.  The  record  of  his 
private  life  does  not  exhibit  a  single  spot  or  blemish.  No  violation  of 
promise ;  no  sin  of  ingratitude ;  no  act  of  extoi'tion ;  nothing  illiberal, 
unmanly,  immoral,  or  dishonest,  from  his  infancy  to  the  present  moment, 
can  rise  up  in  judgment  against  him.  His  friends,  his  neighbors,  his 
acquaintances,  all,  all  revere  him ;  around  him  are  entwined  the  strong 
cords  of  their  affection,  and  nothing  but  the  hand  of  death  can  unloose 
them. 

By  the  deliberate  act  of  the  majority  of  this  legislature  this  incorruptible 
citizen,  this  venerable  patriot  has  been  compelled  to  retire  to  private 
life.  Plis  political  race  is  run ;  and  in  the  course  of  human  events  his 
earthly  pilgrimage,  in  a  very  few  years,  will  also  be  terminated;  and 
when  the  waves  of  oblivion  shall  have  swept  over  the  present,  and  the 
party  feehngs  and  political  excitements  of  the  times  shall  have  become 
hushed  into  a  calm ;  when  the  prejudices  consequent  on  this  state 
of  things  shall  have  been  consigned  to  the  "  Tomb  of  the  Capulets," 
and  sober,  dispassionate  judgment  and  reflection  resume  their  sway, 
full  and  ample  justice  will  be  done  his  character.  He  has  served  his 
country  forty  years  and,  in  the  name  of  this  venerable  statesman,  and 
incorruptible  patriot,  and  on  account  of  his  long  and  faithful  services,  I  do 
most  respectfully  ask  that  this  House  will  spread  upon  its  journals  the 
communication  which  has  just  been  read,  that  they  will  admit  to  record 
this  last  will  and  testament  of  his  political  existence. 

"The  motion  was  carried  by  47  to  26  votes.  In  the  Senate  a  similar 
motion  was  made  and  rejected  by  a  vote  of  13  to  11." 

To  show  that  the  people  did  not  sanction  the  course  of  their  represen- 
tatives towards  their  senators,  we  have  but  to  read  the  preamble  and 
resolutions  adopted  by  a  whig  convention  which  met  at  Knoxville  on  the 
10th  Feb.  18-iO.  This  convention  was  composed  of  delegates  from  the 
various  counties  of  East  Tennessee  convened  for  the  purpose  of  nomi- 
nating electors  for  tlie  districts  of  East  Tennessee  and  the  State  at  large. 
Judge  White's  name  was  placed  upon  the  latter  ticket ;  and  that,  together 
with  the  other  proceedings,  certainly  may  be  considered  an  indication 
of  the  sentiments  of  the  people  whom  he  had  so  long  and  faithfully 
served. 


394  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH     LAWSOIST    WHITE. 

Whereas,  we  have  recently  seen  -with  mingled  feelings  of  regret  and 
indignation,  an  old,  faithful  and  well-tried  pnblic  servant,  the  greater 
portion  of  whose  life  has  been  spent  in  the  councils  of  Ms  country,  pro- 
Bcribed  by  the  blind,  infnriate  zeal  of  faction — therefore, 

Hesoked,  That  the  Hon.  Hugh  L.  White  be  invited  to  meet  his  East 
Tennessee  friends  in  Knoxville,  at  such  time  as  may  suit  his  convenience, 
and  partake  with  them  of  a  barbecue,  to  be  prepared  for  the  occasion. 

Besolved,  That  the  president  of  the  convention  express  to  Judge  White 
the  kind  feelings  and  grateful  recollections  of  the  members  of  this  con- 
vention, and  tender  to  him  the  invitation  to  the  contemplated  festival. 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  thirty  be  appointed  by  the  president,  to 
superintend  the  necessary  arrangements  for  the  proposed  barbecue. 

The  preamble  and  resolutions  were  adopted,  but  Judge  White's  health 
was  too  feeble  on  his  return  home  to  accept  the  flattering  and  kind  invi- 
tation and  receive  the  gratulations  of  his  many  warm  friends.  But  he 
placed  the  highest  estimate  upon  their  attentions. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

WASHINGTON  DIKNER  t    SPEECHES  OF  JUDGE  "WHITE    AND  OTHERS. 

A  FEW  days  after  Judge  White's  resignation  a  dinner  was  given 
him  in  Washington  City,  as  a  last  mark  of  affectionate  respect  from 
those  with  whom  he  had  been  so  long  privately  and  politically  asso- 
ciated. To  give  an  adequate  idea  of  this  deeply  interesting  scene,  a 
sketch  of  some  of  the  speeches  made  on  the  occasion  by  distinguished 
men,  as  well  as  of  that  of  Judge  White  himself  is  here  inserted.  Mr. 
A.  R.  Humes,  at  the  expense  of  some  time  and  much  trouble,  col- 
lected copies  of  these  proceedings  and  transmitted  them  to  the 
*'  Knoxville  Times  "  for  publication.  Below  is  an  extract  from  his 
communication  on  this  occasion. 

Washington,  Jan.  18th,  1840. 

The  public  dinner,  given  yesterday  in  honor  of  Judge  White,  was 
attended  by  many  of  the  most  illustrious  and  distinguished  men  of  whom 
our  nation  can  boast.  It  was  one  of  the  grandest  exhibitions  of  varied 
talent  ever  witnessed  on  a  like  occasion.  The  several  impromptu 
speeches  abounded  in  sallies  of  wit,  the  keenest  satire,  and  the  richest 
classical  allusions. 

About  one  hundred  and  fifty  were  present,  principally  members  of 
Congress. 

At  8  o'clock,  the  company  was  ushered  into  the  splendid  hall  at 
Brown's  hotel,  and  when  Messrs.  Clay  and  Preston  entered  with  their 
distinguished  guest,  the  "  National  Band  "  struck  up  the  inspiring  air  of 
"Hail  Columbia." 

It  was  indeed  a  scene  of  melancholy  and  imposing  grandeur.  By  the 
patriotic  Tennesseean,  it  would  have  been  witnessed  with  the  most  con- 
tradictory emotions.  To  see  the  father  of  his  State  dishonored  in  his 
old  age,  by  the  blind  infuriate  zeal  of  party !  To  see  the  man  who  had 
achieved  for  Tennessee  a  just  and  honorable  fame! — "the  noblest 
Roman  of  them  aU" — a  willing  victim  upon  the  altar — preferring  ban- 
ishment from  ofBce,  to  the  desertion  of  principle — he  would  have  most 
deeply  felt  that  the  true  glory  of  his  State  was  indeed  eclipsed  for  the 
moment. 

395 


39G  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

The  Hon.  Willuain  C.  Preston  presided ;  at  his  right  and  left  were 
seated  Hugh  L.  "White  and  Henry  Clay.  One  might  easily  have  believed 
that  he  lived  in  times  equalled  only  by  the  best  days  of  the  republic  of 
Rome  for  here  were  senators  of  more  than  Eoman  virtue.  There  stood 
the  aged  Cato  with  the  crown  of  martyrdom  on  his  head — banished 
from  the  councils  of  his  country,  yet  firm  to  his  faith,  and  inflexible  in 
truth. 

Messrs.  Davis  of  Massachusetts,  Biddle  of  Pennsylvania,  Gen.  Walter 
Jones,  Col.  George  "Washington  of  Maryland,  and  Mr.  Corwin  of  Ohio, 
acted  as  vice-presidents  on  the  occasion. 

It  was  indeed  a  brilliant  scene.  The  rich  chandeliers  threw  a  blaze 
of  light  over  the  extensive  room,  which  was  tastefully  decorated  with 
evergreens,  and  wine  gushed  forth  from  the  bottle,  and  mirth  from  the 
heart. 

But  there  was  yet  higher  banquetting. 

Mr.  Preston,  the  president,  said : — 

"  I  rise  to  perform  a  very  agreeable  duty.  "We  are  here  to  do  honor 
to  a  man  whose  private  worth  has  commended  him  to  our  aflPections, 
and  whose  public  services  challenge  our  approbation  and  gratitude.  The 
vicissitudes  of  public  life  have  removed  him  from  a  high  station,  which  he 
has  long  filled  in  such  a  way  as  to  honor  it,  as  much  as  it  had  honored 
him.  He  ascended  to  it  through  vai'ious  gradations  of  public  service, 
both  in  his  own  State,  and  in  this  government — at  each  step  displaying 
an  assemblage  of  high  and  useful  qualities — of  virtues  and  of  talents, 
which  showed  him  capable  of  a  still  more  extended  sphere. 

His  life  has  been  a  pattern  to  statesmen  of  an  honest  and  unflinching 
adherence  to  principle.  He  came  here  to  "Washington,  the  loved  and 
honored  favorite  of  a  great  and  dominant  party,  who  had  the  power,  and 
the  inclination  to  gratify  all  that  his  ambition  might  have  aspired  to ; 
but  when  their  policy  no  longer  conformed  to  his  judgment,  he  surren- 
dered at  once  the  smiles  of  power  for  the  duties  of  patriotism. 

The  purity  of  his  motives  is  vindicated  by  the  fact,  that  he  left  the 
strong  for  the  weaker  side.  The  vigor  of  his  patriotism  is  shown,  by  his. 
willingness  to  incur  for  the  sake  of  his  country,  the  displeasure  of  a  friend  in 
the  moment  of  his  power,  to  whom,  in  every  variety  of  his  fortune,  through 
a  long  life  he  had  adhered  with  a  romantic  fidelity.  He  quitted  the  palace 
for  his  principles,  he  gave  up  the  court  for  his  country.  He  did  not 
believe  that  a  palace  sanctifies  what  without  its  walls  was  reprehensible. 
He  was  of  sterner  stufi"  than  to  'crook  the  pregnant  hinges  of  the 
knee,'  where  '  thrift  might  follow  fawning.'  "With  a  noble  self-sacrifice 
he  pursued  the  steady  tenor  of  his  principles  wherever  they  led  him,  and 
has  permitted  me  to  present  his  name  to  you.  I  doubt  not  it  Avill  so 
stand  in  after  times : — 

"  Hugh  L.  White.  — Tlie  man  and  the  statesman,  without  fear  and  without  reproach." 


FAEEWELL    DINJfER    AT    "WASHINGTON.  397 

These  remarks  were  delivered  in  the  most  finished  style  of  oratory,  and 
when  Mr.  Preston  pronounced  the  above  sentiment,  its  reception  was 
bailed  with  loud  and  continued  "  huzzas."  But  when  the  venerable  form 
of  that 'veteran  statesman,  to  whom  it  was  addressed,  was  seen  rising 
from  his  seat,  the  welkin  rung  with  "  yet  a  louder,  and  a  louder  strain." 

Mr.  White  rose  and  said : 

"  Gentlemen^  :  The  most  eloquent  response  I  could  make  to  the  senti- 
ments contained  in  your  toast,  would  be  to  remain  entirely  silent.  No 
language  of  which  I  am  master,  can  convey  an  adequate  idea  of  the  emo- 
tions produced  by  the  expression  of  such  sentiments,  and  the  man- 
ner in  which  they  have  been  received  by  this  large  and  respectable 
assembly.  At  a  time  when  I  am  hanisTied  from  the  service  of  my  country^ 
without  any  hope  that  I  can  be  longer  useful  to  any  man,  to  find  myself 
surrounded  by  so  many  men,  whose  friendship  and  countenance,  any  man 
in  any  age  or  country,  in  possession  of  the  most  extensive  power,  would 
justly  feel  proud  of,  overwhelms  me.  Thanks,  from  my  heart,  I  return 
you,  and  it  is  probably  the  only  return  I  can  ever  make,  for  your  kind- 
ness and  attention. 

"  "Were  I  to  go  alone  fi-om  the  service  of  the  public,  I  could  find  but  little 
to  regret.  My  country  would  be  more  ably  served  by  some  one  who  has 
seen  fewer  years.  [Cries  of  '  never !  never ! ']  Now  in  my  sixty- 
seventh  year,  the  last  thirty-eight  almost  wholly  spent  in  some  public 
employment,  little  more  could  be  expected  of  me ;  but,  for  the  sake  of 
reaching  me,  my  late  colleague  must  be  made  a  victim  likewise.  [Cries 
of  '  shame !  shame ! ']  He  had  served  his  State  but  one  session  in  the 
Senate,  and  I  think  all  now  present,  who  are  acquainted  with  him,  Avill 
agree  with  me  in  opinion  thot  no  man  who  has  entered  that  body  in  our 
day,  made  more  friends  in  the  same  length  of  time.  ['  No  !  none.']  A 
man  of  the  strictest  integrity,  with  a  mind  highly  endowed  and  well 
cultivated,  aided  by  manners  pleasing  to  all  with  whom  he  associated,  of 
untiring  industry,  and  in  the  vigor  of  life;  had  he  been  spared,  his  State 
and  the  country  at  large,  had  much  to  hope  from  his  labors.  For  rnyself, 
I  am  proud  that  my  State  can,  in  my  person.,  produce  yet  one  man  willing 
to  be  made  a  sacrifice  rather  than  sacrifice  his  principles. ''"'    [Nine  cheers  !] 

Mr.  "White  continued — "  One  thing  may  yet  be  permitted  to  me,  and  that 
is  to  beseech  my  State  that  when,  hereafter,  that "  monster,  party  spirit," 
shall  call  upon  her  to  furnish  a  victim  for  the  altar,  she  may  spare  her 
younger  sons,  and  let  loose  her  blood-hounds  upon  some  man  already 
worn  out  in  her  service,  who  may  be  found  willing  to  be  offered  up  as  a 
sacrifice,  rather  than  stamp  as  hypocritical  his  former  professions." 

He  next  alluded  to  his  separation  from  the  late  Administration,  and 
said — "  When  ray  countrymen  asked  the  use  of  my  name,  as  a  candidate 


398  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    •WHITE, 

for  the  Presidency,  and  I  gave  my  consent,  my  destruction  "was  decreed, 
and  how  was  it  to  he  effected  ?  In  no  way  but  by  driving  me  from  the 
Administration;  and  how  was  this  to  be  accomplished?  I  would  not 
and  did  not  abandon  any  one  political  principle,  I  had  ever  professed. 
The  separation,  therefore,  could  only  be  brought  about  by  tlie  Adminis- 
tration changing  its  practice  in  relation  to  every  great  subject,  except 
that  of  removing  the  Indians.  It  did  so,  wheeled  to  the  right  about,  and 
I  kept  on,  directly  in  its  former  course." 

[Mr.  White  was  here  interrupted  by  loud  bursts  of  applause  and  con- 
firmations of  his  statement.] 

He  continued — "  That  branch  of  the  public  service  in  which  I  labored 
most,  related  to  the  Indian  afFairs.  In  that  I,  and  the  late  Administra- 
£ion,  had  stuck  together  to  the  last,  and  the  Indians  are  mostly  removed 
from  Georgia,  North  Carolina,  Tennessee,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Louisiana, 
Missouri,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Ohio,  and  Michigan."  And  he  asked,  with 
boldness  and  emphasis — "  "Who  dare  charge  me  with  failing  to  give  my 
best  support  both  to  the  late  and  present  Administration,  on  that  great 
and  interesting  subject?  Upon  this  subject,  I  willingly  leave  my  charac- 
ter, to  be  settled  by  the  testimony  of  my  colleagues,  upon  the  committee." 
[A  voice  from  a  senator — '  I  am  a  witness.'] 

"  I  am  thankful  to  my  State,  that  she  permitted  me  to  remain  here,  nntil 
her  Indians  were  removed,  and  our  lands  brought  into  market,  so  that 
the  State  is  now  receiving  into  her  treasury  the  proceeds  of  their  sales." 

[It  is  well  known  that  Mr.  White  has  long  been  the  able  chairman  of 
the  committee  on  Indian  affairs.] 

"  There  is  yet  a  most  important  part  of  the  great  plan  to  be  accomplished, 
and  that  is  establishing  a  plan  for  their  government,  by  which  they  can 
be  made  secure  among  themselves,  and  the  neighboring  whites  rendered 
safe  from  any  of  their  depredations,  and  one  upon  Avhich  they  can  be 
civilized  and  christianized. 

"This  latter  object  the  committee  have  endeavored  to  accomplish. 
They  have  for  several  sessions,  reported  a  bill,  and  had  it  passed  in  the 
Senate.  They  at  first  had  the  aid  and  sanction  of  the  Administration  for 
the  measure.  Now,  however,  it  has  got  off  the  Jackson  track,  (laughter) 
and  is  discountenancing  the  measure,  and  what  the  President  wishes 
done,  the  Lord  only  knows.  (Loud  laughter.)  /  do  not  know,  and  he 
has  not  deemed  it  necessary,  in  his  labored  message,  to  give  us  a  useful 
hint  upon  the  subject. 

"A  high  responsibility  rests  upon  the  executive,  and  to  my  old  asso- 
ciates I  say,  if  this  subject  be  not  faithfully  attended  to,  and  delicately, 
as  well  as  ably  managed,  we  will,  I  fear,  ere  long  witness  the  blaze  of 
war,  from  one  end  of  our  southern  frontier  to  the  other. 

"  Before  the  year  closes  a  Chief  Magistrate  is  to  be  elected  for  four  years, 
succeeding  the  4th  March,  1841.     Since  the  respective  parties  have  agreed 


FAREWELL    DINNEE    AT    WASniNGTON".  399 

upon  their  candidates,  I  have  amongst  you,  said  nothing  as  to  "whom  I 
should  prefer. 

"  Upon  this  subject  I  do  not  wish  to  be  non-committal.  Neither  of  the 
gentlemen  named  would  have  been  my  choice.  I  would  greatly  have 
preferred  the  distinguished  gentleman  from  Kentucky,  now  near  pie. 
(Mr.  Clay  bowed — the  whole  company  rose  as  by  one  impulse,  and  gave 
three  deafening  cheers  at  the  mention  of  this  great  man.) 

"  Upon  some  subjects,  he  and  I  did  not  agree  ;  but  upon  the  same  points, 
I  disagree  Avith  the  present  Chief  Magistrate  also.  Most  of  these  have 
now  ceased  to  be  practical.  Upon  the  great  subjects  now  practical,  I 
coincide  heartily  with  that  gentleman,  and  disagree  with  the  present 
incumbent.  Had  he  continued  a  candidate,  I  would  have  given  him  a 
cordial  support.  His  talents,  integrity,  and  past  services,  in  trying  times, 
at  home  and  abroad,  entitle  him  to  it.  His  qualifications  are  of  that 
order  which  would  have  made  me  feel  my  country  safe,  under  his  admin- 
istration. He  would  have  been  as  great,  if  not  a  greater  man,  than  any 
one  called  to  his  aid,  and  therefore  could  not  have  been  misled  by  any 
pretended  friend,  in  or  out  of  his  cabinet. 

"  I  once  exerted  myself  in  favor  of  an  intimate  acquaintance,  in  whose 
honesty,  decision,  and  knowledge  of  human  character,  I  had  unbounded 
confidence.  I  believed  a  defective  knowledge  of  what  was  in  books, 
could  be  supplied  by  calling  in  the  aid  of  enlightened  and  honest  mea, 
and  thus  the  well-being  of  the  community  secured. 

"  I  was  disappointed,  and  determined  never  again  to  make  such  an 
experiment. 

"  General  Harrison  is  by  birth  a  Virginian ;  his  father  was  a  patriot, 
and  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  At  an  early  age  he  joined 
the  army,  and  was  distinguished  under  the  gallant  "Wayne.  Preceding 
and  during  the  last  war,  we  find  him  battling  with  the  savage  foe  at 
Tippecanoe;  then  with  the  combined  British  and  Indians  at  Fort  Meigs, 
and  finishing  in  a  blaze  of  glory  at  the  river  Thames. 

"  These  important  services,  no  man  can  doubt.  Eeal  and  documentary 
testimony  establish  them  beyond  contradiction. 

"  In  the  civil  department,  his  services  have  been  still  more  useful.  He 
was  governor,  and  superintendent  of  Indian  afiairs,  north  west  of  the 
river  Ohio,  over  a  tract  of  country  of  immense  extent.  Look  at  your 
Indian  treaty  book,  and  you  will  find  him  the  able  negotiator  of  many 
Indian  treaties.  He  was  a  delegate  in  Congress,  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  and  afterwards,  a  member  of  the  Senate,  and  finally 
a  minister,  to  i*epresent  us  in  Spanish  America. 

"  In  each  of  those  stations,  he  was  useful  and  conspicuous.  He  probably 
had  control  of  millions  of  dollars  of  public  money,  and  not  one  dollar  did. 
he  squander  or  misuse.  He  gives  the  highest  evidence  of  honest  integ- 
rity.    Althougli  frugal,  he  is  poor — with  nut  more  ready  money  than  his 


400  MEMOIR    OF    HTJGH    LAWSON    WHITE, 

necessities  require."  [Mr.  White  hei-e  said,  he  had  detained  the  conipany 
long  enough.     Cries  of  "No!  no!  goon!  goon!"] 

He  corttinued — "  "What  are  the  services  of  his  opponent,  in  military  or 
civil  life?  He  has  been  long  a  public  man,  and  I  wish  I  could  find  one 
of  his  friends,  who  could  point  nie  to  any  one,  great  measure,  beneficial 
to  his  country,  of  whicli  he  was  the  author.  /»,  and  of  himself  he  is 
entitled  to  less  standing  than  almost  any  one  of  his  party  who  is  at  all 
distinguished. 

"  Take  from  him  the  importance  he  has  acquired,  by  glueing  himself  to 
General  Jackson,  and  there  is  nothing  of  public  character  left,  which  any 
man  need  envy.  He  is  a  feeble  glimmering  rushlight,  which  when  the 
sconce  of  General  Jackson,  from  which  we  have  a  bright  reflection,  is 
withdrawn  [roars  of  laughter]  nothing  is  left,  by  which  anything  useful 
can  be  discovered. 

"  When  we  are  to  choose  men  for  office,  we  commonly  judge  of  what  they 
will  do  by  what  thay  have  done.  As  General  Harrison  has  been  found 
honest  and  capable  heretofore,  I  am  willing  to  trust  him  again.  As  he 
has  often  risTced  his  life  for  the  country,  I  am  willing  to  risJc  my  vote  for 
him.     ["  So  are  we  !  so  are  we,  all  /"] 

"  With  a  heart  full  of  gratitude  for  all  past  kindness,  I  have  one  last 
favor  to  ask — that  you  join  me  in  the  sentiment  with  which  I  close : — 

"  Our  country — May  every  whig  stand  prepared  to  be  offered  up,  aa  a  sacrifice  for  the  wel- 
fare of  the  republic,  in  preference  to  witnessing  the  sacrifice  of  the  public  interest,  to  the 
aggrandizement  of  selfish  individuals." 

This  is  but  a  faint  outline — an  imperfect  sketch — of  the  eloquent 
remarks  of  Judge  White.  They  were  received  with  marked  interest  and 
the  most  enthusiastic  applause. 

Having  taken  his  seat,  his  friends  and  fellow  statesmen  thronged 
around  him  once  more,  to  shake  the  hand  of  him  whom  they  loved  to  honor, 
and  whose  public  services,  if  denied  him  by  his  own  State,  demand  the 
gratitude  of  our  common  country. 

Vice  President  Davis  was  then  called  upon,  and  Massachusetts  was  ably 
represented.  After  a  few  brief  and  appropriate  remarks,  he  said — 
"  that  the  old  Bay  State,  had  gotten  drtmh  on  fifteen  gallons,  but  was  just 
getting  solery  He  alluded,  in  a  glowing  strain,  to  the  mists  that 
shrouded  Bunker  Hill — ^but  they  were  soon  dispersed.  It  is  true,  that 
clouds  now  overshadow  Massachusetts,  but  they  too  would  soon  be  dissi- 
pated, and  the  whigs  again  would  triumph. 

He  concluded  by  offering  the  following  sentiment : — 

"  The  great  West— She  has  unfurled  her  banner  in  the  Great  Whig  Cause  ;  as  she  goes,  so 
goes  the  Ccyuntry." 

Loud  and  repeated  calls  were  here  made  for  Mr.  Clay  from  every 


FAREWELL    DINNER    AT    "WASHINGTON.  401 

quarter  of  the  room,  ^.nd  when  he  arose,  he  was  greeted  with  thun- 
ders of  applause. 

He  spoke,  with  deep  feeling,  of  the  occasion  which  had  called 
them  together,  and  delivered  a  most  eloquent  and  appropriate  eulo- 
gium  on  the  character  and  virtues  of  the  late  venerable  senator.  He 
denounced  with  an  unsparing  hand,  the  ruinous  policy  of  the  past 
and  present  Administration,  and  briefly  alluded  to  General  Jackson 
as  "the- distinguished  person  of  the  Hermitage."  He  referred  to  the 
Harrisburg  convention,  and  said  that  the  result  of  the  deliberations  of 
that  enlightened  body,  met  his  most  hearty  and  cordial  approbation. 
In  conclusion,  he  gave  a  sentiment : — 

"  May  Tennessee  yet  learn  to  honor  and  de  justice  to  her  distinguished  son,  whom  by  her 
mistaken  course,  she  has  compelled  to  quit  the  councils  of  his  country." 

Mr.  Clay's  remarks,  though  few,  were  received  with  great  and 
universal  acclamation.  They  were  worthy  of  him  and  of  the  occa- 
siop. 

Mr.  Preston  was  here  called  upon,  and  in  addition  to  his  intro- 
ductory speech,  made  some  eloquent  remarks,  which  I  regret  for  the 
present  I  am  unable  to  furnish  you. 

Vice-president  Corwin  of  Ohio,  being  called  on  by  the  president, 
rose  and  said : — 

He  responded  to  the  call  with  feelings  of  mingled  triumph  and  regret. 
He  had  listened  to  the  noble  and  patriotic  sentiments  which  an  honored 
guest  (Judge  White)  expressed  with  no  common  interest.    Mr.  President, 
said  Mr.  Corwin,  a  great  ethical  writer  of  integrity,  has  said  that  the  noblest 
sight  ever  exhibited  to  the  eye  of  man,  is  that  of  a  great  patriot  strug- 
gling and  falling  with  the  falling  institutions  of  his  country.     We  see 
before  us,  one  of  the  oldest,  most  beloved,  and  faithful  of  the  American 
patriots  of  our  times,  nobly  sacrificing  station,  and  power,  and  the  means 
of  serving  his  country  in  its  public  councils,  to  his  own  stern  regard  for 
a  great  principle.     We  see  him  driven'by  his  old  associates,  either  to  for- 
sake his  and  their  former  principles,  or  himself  to  surrender  the  station 
he  holds  in  the  pubHc  service.     He  has  not  hesitated,  sir !  if  he  had,  he 
would  have  proved  false  to  his  own  history,  false  to  his  country,  false  to 
himself.     It  is  melancholy  to  see  selfish  faction,  combined  with  execu- 
tive power  thus  even  temporarily  successful,  in  their  most  unhallowed 
purposes.     Still,  as  I  have  said,  sentiments  of  triumph  are  inspired, 
when  we  behold  such  martyrs  falling  in  our  cause.     If  human  nature  is 
not  changed,  if  past  history  has  not  ceased  to  instruct  in  tlie  future,  then 
such  a  cause  as  ours,  so  sanctified  by  principle,  so  consecrated  by  sacri- 

26 


402  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

fice,  so  illustrated  by  the  men  who  sustain  and  adhere  to  it,  must  triumph. 
Sir,  I  only  rose  to  express  in  a,  few  words,  my  hearty  and  sincere 
concurrence  in  the  sentiments  of  high  regard  for  our  venerable  friend 
(whose  retirement  has  called  us  together),  which  have  echoed  from  every 
quarter  of  this  crowded  hall.  A  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  has  to- 
night alluded  to  the  banner  of  our  party  lately  unfurled  in  the  "  great 
West."  As  a  citizen  of  the  "West,  I  cannot  but  feel  some  pride  that  the 
standard-bearer  of  that  host  of  battle  for  constitutional  libertj^,  is  taken  from 
amongst  the  citizens  of  my  own  State,  and  let  me  assure  you,  Mr.  President, 
let  partisans  from  any  quarter  say  what  they  will,  throughout  the  whole 
extent  of  that  great  West,  victorj',  proud  and  complete  victory  awaits 
that  flag.  Mr.  President,  we  have  met  here  to  do  honor  and  homage  to 
one  who  has  nobly  sacrificed  self  to  duty,  who  has  turned  away  from  old 
friends  and  clung  only  to  his  country.  Sir,  I  see  before  me  others,  who 
in  a  sphere  less  conspicuous,  but  with  a  courage  not  less  unyielding  and 
steady,  have  fought  the  same  battle,  and  conquered.  Men,  who,  in  oppo- 
sition to  great  names,  and  what  was  thought  overwhelming  influence, 
did  not  hesitate,  when  their  country  called,  to  defy  names  however  great, 
influence  however  powerful,  and  old  associates  however  strong.  Sir, 
when  I  look  around  this  hall,  and  over  this  country,  I  see  in  our  cause, 
and  those  who  sustain  it,  the  sure  indications  of  future  and  speedy  tri- 
umph. I  remember,  sir,  when  a  boy,  to  have  listened  with  strong  inter- 
est to  the  narrative  of  one  who  had  been  present  at  the  battle  of  the 
Eapids,  where  Gen.  Wayne  finally  vanquished  the  Indian  forces  in  the 
North-West,  and  gave  peace  to  a  widely  extended  frontier  settlement. 
The  old  soldier  said,  that  whilst  the  battle  was  raging  hottest,  many  in 
that  wing  of  the  army  where  he  was,  were  beginning  to  falter  and 
think  of  a  retreat.  Just  at  the  moment  when  this  feeling  began  to  be 
prevalent,  a  young  lieutenant,  who  was  known  as  the  confidential  aid  of 
old  Mad  Anthony,  galloped  up  to  the  line  and  called  to  the  men,  with 
a  voice  that  was  heard  above  the  roar  of  battle  :  "  Onward !  my  brave 
fellows !  the  enemy  is  flying,  one  fire  more  and  the  day  is  ours."  Sir,  that 
young  lieutenant  was  William  Henry  Harrison,  now,  the  bearer  of  that 
glorious  banner  under  which  we  wage  war  against  usurping  power, 
crafty  peculation  arid  blind  hostility  to  the  good  old  maxims  of  our 
fathers.  There  are  our  foes — there  are  our  country's  foes ;  let  me  exhort 
you  in  the  language  of  the  young  lieutenant — "  One  fire  more,  and  the 
day  is  ours!" 

Mr.  Evans  of 'Maine  being  called  upon,  said : — 

He  appeared  there  in  a  representative  capacity,  and  although  he  was 
not  generally  much  in  favor  of  the  doctrine  of  instructions,  especially 
practised,  as  it  has  been,  to  drive  from  the  service  of  the  country,  at  a 
critical  period  of  its  atfairs,  one  of  the  most  venerable,  distinguished,  and 


FAEE^VEI^L   DINNER   AT   WASHINGTON.  '403 

nseful  of  its  public  servants,  yet  ha  acknowledged  and  would  obey  the 
instructions,  whicli  he  (Mc.  E.)  had  received  on  the  present  occasion. 

It  happened,  Mr.  Evans  said,  that  although  he  was  anxious  to  unite  in 
this  testimonial  to  the  worth  of  the  honored  guest  of  this  evening,  ho, 
accidentally,  had  expressed  his  determination  in  the  hearing  of  a  fair 
friend,  just  before  coming  to  the  hall,  not  to  obtrude  any  remarks  or 
sentiments  of  his  own,  upon  the  attention  of  the  meeting.  To  this,  the 
lady  to  whom  he  referred  made  decided  objection,  and  finally  laid  com- 
mands on  him,  in  her  behalf,  to  express  the  sentiments,  which  according 
with  his  own  she  entertained  for  the  public  character  and  private  worth 
of  the  distinguished  guest,  in  whose  honor  we  are  assembled.  The 
friend  in  whose  behalf  he  spoke,  was  a  lady  of  great  classical  and  his- 
torical attainments,  of  varied  learning,  of  accurate  taste,  and  just  percep- 
tion of  the  appositeness  of  comparisons — and  her  first  thought  was  to 
propose  a  sentiment,  alluding  to  the  ostracism  of  the  Just,  from  the  city 
he  had  served  so  long,  and  faithfully.  Yet  a  moment's  reflection  sug- 
gested the  thought,  that  the  allusion  was  so  obvious,  that  doubtless  it 
would  occur  to  many  others  also,  and  would  be  frequently  made  during 
the  evening.  We,  therefore,  acknowledging  the  great  propriety  of  the 
comparison,  concluded  to  abandon  the  idea  of  designating  the  honorable 
senator  as  the  Aristides  of  the  Eepublic.  The  event  has  proved  the 
accuracy  of  her  observations,  for  the  allusion  has  been  made  more  than 
once  already,  and  all  of  us  perceive  its  propriety. 

It  then  occurred  to  her,  to  apply  to  our  venerable  friend,  the  cognomen 
of  the  Oincinnatus  of  our  Commonwealth.  To  which  I  objected,  as  we 
had  already  appropriated  the  title  to  another,  whom,  by  the  blessing  of 
God,  the  people  of  these  United  States  designed  to  call,  not  many  months 
hence,  from  his  farm,  on  the  banks  of  the  beautiful  Ohio,  to  the  executive 
mansion,  and  the  executive  duties,  here.  My  objection  was  deemed 
valid. 

My  learned  friend  then  suggested  that  in  the  ingratitude  of  the  Eepub- 
lic toward  this  eminent  servant,  he  bore  resemblance  to  Belisarius,  among 
the  last  and  most  distinguished  sons  of  the  Ancient  Mistress  of  the  world ; 
but  we  could  not  bring  ourselves  to  confess,  even  so  remotely,  that  our 
country  was  yet  in  its  last  days  of  degeneracy  and  corruption.  "We 
looked  forward  to  the  day,  now  dawning,  when  the  pristine  virtues  of 
our  country  would  again  be  restored  and  illustrated — a  day  which  our 
aged  guest,  we  trust,  will  be  spared  to  see  and  rejoice  in. 

Coming  down  to  later  days,  and  regarding  the  purity  of  the  character 
of  our  friend — knowing  that  he  was  without  fear,  and  without  reproach, 
and  if  he  is  now  to  fall,  he  falls  with  his  face  to  the  enemy,  it  was  sug- 
gested to  me,  that  allusion  might  very  appropriately  be  made  to  the 
celebrated  chevalier  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  Chevalier  Bayard,  and 
this  was  the  sentiment  I  was  instructed  to  offer.     Anticipating,  however, 


404  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

from  the  manifest  fitness  of  the  allusion,  that  some  other  gentleman 
might  propose  it,  before  I  should  have  the  opportunity,  as  has  in  fact 
happened,  and  to  guard  against  being  unprepared,  in  such  an  event, 
various  other  references  were  suggested.  In  recalling  to  mind  the  history 
of  eminent  patriots,  statesmen,  and  philanthropists  of  other  days,  wherever 
worth,  public  and  private,  integrity  without  blemish,  patriotism  pure 
and  unalloyed,  had  appeared  among  men,  or  many  points  of  resemblance 
existed,  to  which  reference  could  be  made,  so  much  of  all  that  was  glori- 
ous and  valuable,  and  praiseworthy  in  human  character,  and  conduct, 
had  been  displayed  and  developed  in  the  life  of  the  eminent  statesman 
who  is  about,  to  leave  us,  that  the  great  diificulty  was  from  which  to 
select. 

We  thought  of  Pericles,  of  Themistocles  and  Cato,  and  of  the  wise  and 
good  of  later  days,  but  circumstances  in  the  life  of  each,  rendered  the 
allusion  not,  in  every  particular,  literally  correct,  without  some  alteration. 

Finally,  not  to  be  tedious,  I  was  reminded  of  the  expression  of  the  mother 
of  Brasidas,  over  his  dead  body,  which  had  been  brought  home  from  the 
battle,  where  he  so  gloriously  fell.  It  was  the  answer  of  a  Spartan 
mother.  Tennessee  may,  in  some  respects,  in  the  coming  contest  be  our 
Sparta,  and  although  I  see  around  me  distinguished  men  of  that  State, 
and  others  I  know  to  be  in  the  field  not  now  here,  they  will  excuse  me,  I 
know,  in  the  sentiment  I  was  charged  to  offer,  for  altering  somewhat  the 
expression  of  the  mother  of  the  Spartan  hero. 

Our  Honored  Quest.— ^'^  Sparta  hath  ne'er  a  worthier  son,  than  he." 

A  sentiment  from  General  Thompson,  of  South  Carolina,  elicited 
the  following  remarks  from  Mr.  Habersham : 

Mr.  President:  The  honor  which  has  just  been  conferred  upon  me, 
was  so  wholly  unexpected,  that  I  feel  myself  entirely  unprepared  to  make 
a  suitable  acknowledgment.  I  feel,  however,  that  that  compliment  was 
rather  extended  for  the  State  which  I  here  in  part  represent,  than  for 
any  merit  of  my  own.  It  is  a  fact  which  may  have  been  forgotten  by 
many,  perhaps  by  most  of  the  gentlemen  at  this  table,  that  in  the  great 
contest  for  the  Presidency  some  three  or  four  years  ago,  Georgia  was 
almost  the  only  State  which  cast  her  vote  in  favor  of  the  venerable  and 
distinguished  man  whom  we  have  met  here  to  honor.  Sir,  I  took  part 
in  that  contest  in  behalf  of  that  venerable  man,  and  battled  in  the  ranks 
of  his  friends.  Sir,  as  I  have  said,  Georgia  stood  almost  alone  in  her  vote 
for  that  individual.  She  stood  so,  in  support  of  that  great  principle 
which  she  has  so  often  carried  out  into  practice — the  great  principle  of 
nullification.  I  mean  nullification  in  its  only  true  and  legitimate  mean- 
ing :  the  principle  of  sustaining  the  Constitution  and  the  law.,  as  passed 


FAKEWELL   DLNXEK   AT    WASUINGTON.  405 

in  pursiiance  thereof.  Yes,  sir,  she  stood  in  his  support  to  maintain  that 
principle,  as  far  as  circumstances  would  permit.  'Tis  true,  that  this 
venerable  guest  had  opposed  that  principle  as  acted  out  in  South  Caro- 
lina ;  but  of  the  candidates  then  presented  to  our  choice,  he  was  in  our 
opinion,  the  man  most  likely  to  stem  the  torrent  of  corruption,  to  main- 
tain the  rights  of  the  South,  and  the  integrity  of  our  beloved  Constitution. 
Me  had  not  promised  "  to  follow  in  the  footsteps^ 

Sir,  on  this  principle  I  and  my  friends  had  dared  also  to  stand  forth  in 
maintenance  of  Carolina,  in  her  great  struggle  for  Constitutional  rights— 
in  that  struggle,  we  had  fallen  into  a  minority  in  our  own  State,  and  the 
victory  obtained  in  behalf  of  Judge  White,  was  the  first  which  graced  our 
banner,  after  a  long  series  of  defeats. 

In  maintenance  of  that  principle  Mr.  President,  once  so  dear  to  your 
own  beloved  State  of  South  Carohna,  I  was  sent  here— and  to  maintain 
it,  I  have  C07n6  here.  Yes,  sir,  I  and  my  colleagues  have  maintained  it 
in  an  assembly  here,  more  noisy  and  boisterous  than  this,  composed  of 
the  representatives  of  twenty-five  States  and  the  sixth  of  a  State.  We 
maintained  New  Jersey,  by  our  vote,  in  her  struggle  for  those  Constitu- 
tional rights  of  which  she  has  been  robbed.  We  maintained  the  prin- 
ciple in  our  vote  in  behalf  of  the  Constitution  and  the  laws  passed  iu 
pursuance  thereof. 

I  little  dreamed,  sir,  when  I  came  here,  of  the  scenes  I  was  about  to 
witness.     In  the  one  hall  I  saw,  as  it  seems  to  me,  a  majority  of  the 
representatives  of  the  people,  trampling  under  foot  the  sacred  compact  of 
our  Union.     From  that  hall,  I  passed  into  the  other,  at  the  further  end 
of  the  Capitol,  and  there  again,  I  witnessed  a  scene,  which  was  enough  to 
make  the  heart  of  any  man  bleed,  who  respected  the  sacred  institutions 
of  his  country.     I  know  not  that  I  have  ever  had  my  feelings  so  deeply 
excited,  as  in  witnessing  the  retirement  of  our  venerable  guest  from  his 
seat  in  the  Senate,  which  he  had  so  long  honored.     Sir,  he  was  at  that 
moment  obeying  the  mandate  of  his  legislature;  and,  however  I  may 
differ  with  him  on  the  right  of  a  legislature  to  instruct,  I  could  but  com- 
mend him,  for  he  was  acting  .honestly,  and  carrying  out  the  principle 
which  he  himself  had  always  maintained.     Sir,  in  my  humble  opinion, 
this  doctrine  of   instruction,  as  now  insisted  upon  and  practised,  is 
destructive  of  that  permanence  and  independence  which  the  Constitution 
intended  to  secure  in  the  Senate ;  I  maintain  the  right  of  the  people  to 
instruct — but  it  belongs  solely  to  the  people  in  their  sovereign  capacity 
when  met  in  Convention.      The  legislature  is  the  mere  agent  provided  by 
the  Constitution  to  elect  a  senator— he  is  elected  for  six  years— the  legis- 
lature for  but  one.     He  represents  the  sovereignty  of  the  State  in  the 
Councils  of  the  Union — they,  the  sovereignty  of  the  people,  to  make 
laws  for  the  States ;  they  are  both  agents  for  the  people  of  the  State — 
Beither  the  Constitution  nor  the  people  have  given  to  the  legislature  the 


466  MEMOm    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    "WHITE. 

right  to  dictate  to,  or  to  control  the  senator.  That  right  the  people  hate 
reserved  to  themselves,  to  he  exercised  in  Convention  ;  and  the  atternpt  to 
instruct  a  senator  is  an  usurpation  by  the  legislature,  of  the  right 
resei'ved  to  the  people.  The  senator  is  not  the  agent  of  the  legislature. 
The  legislature  is  but  itself  an  agent  of  the  people  for  certain  p)urposes 
specified  in  the  Constitution  of  the  State.  The  senator  is  the  agent,  and 
representative  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  State  in  tlie  Senate  of  the  Union, 
and  is  only  hound  by  instruction  from  that  sovereign  body,  the  people 
of  the  State,  to  whom  alone  the  right  belongs,  and  hy  icliom  alone  it  can 
ie  exercised. 

But,  sir,  that  venerable  man,  that  honest  man,  felt  himself  bound  to 
obey  the  instructions,  and  there,  in  that  Senate  Hall,  I  saw  him  standing — 
his  grey  locks  streaming  over  his  shoulders — a  tear,  not  of  weakness,  but 
of  deep  and  manly  feeling,  trembling  in  his  eye — there  he  stood,  while  in 
tremulous  tones  of  the  deepest  feeling,  he  took,  perhaps,  a  last  leave  of 
the  associates  with  whom  he  had  so  long  acted.  It  almost  seemed  to  me 
as  if  that  tear  was  about  to  fall  upon  the  very  ashes  of  the  Constitution. 
It  seemed  to  me  as  if  the  last  pillar  of  the  Constitution  was  about  to 
crumble  into  dust — ^I  almost  imagined,  that  I  saw  "  the  hand -writing  on 
the  wall."  But  God  in  his  mercy  has  given  us  time  for  repentance — He- 
still  spares  us  from  the  wrath  of  his  mighty  indignation. 

Thus,  at  both  ends  of  the  Capitol,  in  that  self-same  hour  did  I  witness 
what  seemed  to  me,  the  utter  destruction  of  the  great  compact  of  our 
Union.  I  have  done — I  did  not  expect  to  make  a  speech  at  this  board, 
and  was  utterly  unprepared  to  do  so.  I  do  trust  that  our  honored  guest 
may  live  long  enough  to  allow  his  State  to  do  him  justice  by  sending  him 
back  to  his  old  seat  in  the  Senate.    I  give  you,  sir, 

The  Bon.  John  Bell  of  Tennessee. — ^The  man  who  had  the  courage  to  grapple  with  the  lion 
in  his  den. 

Mr.  Biddle,  on  a  call  from  the  president,  alluded  to  the  terms  in 
which  that  honorable  gentleman  had  himself  deprecated,  and  for  some 
time  eluded,  a  similar  call  on  the  plea  of  shrinking  from  an  attempt 
to  follow  the  eloquent  addresses  that  had  been  heard. 

It  looked  a  little  like  mockery,  after  a  noble  addition  to  the  formidable 
list,  to  turn  round  and  make  the  present  requisition.  Yet  he  (Mr.  B.) 
was  willing  to  believe  that  the  feeblest  echo  of  the  prevailing  sentiment 
might  prove  acceptable  to  tlie  enthusiasm  around  us.  He  must,  in  can- 
dor, admit  that  he  had  no  other  sentiment  about  him — absolutely  none — 
but  the  absorbing  one  of  the  evening — profound  respect,  and  he  might 
add  affection — for  him  whom  they  had  assembled  to  honor. 

It  is  not  known,  perhaps,  said  Mr  B.,  even  to  that  gentleman  himself 


FAKEWELL   DIKNER   AT   WASHINGTON.  407 

that  he  and  I,  sixteen  years  ago,  were  fellow-laborers  in  the  same  politi- 
cal struggle,  Yes,  sir,  in  1824,  I  was  amongst  the  ardent  supporters  in 
Pennsylvania,  of  Gen.  Jackson  for  the  Presidency.  We  were  uot  led 
away  merely  by  military  renown.  Who  has  forgotten  the  lofty  and 
noble  principles  of  action  announced  in  the  memorable  letters  to  Mr. 
Monroe?  These  letters  were  surreptitiously  obtained  and  published  to 
do  him  prejudice,  yet,  what  a  trumpet-note  of  hope  to  the  young  and  the 
sanguine  ! — What  blessings,  in  the  perspective,  upon  our  beloved  country, 
when  party,  with  all  its  vileness,  its  profligacy,  its  fraud,  its  idolatry,  its 
proscription,  was  to  be  trampled  into  dust  with  an  iron  heel ! 

It  is  not  a  little  curious  to  look  back  and  recollect  who,  at  that  period, 
were  the  most  bitter  and  vindictive  in  their  opposition  to  Gen.  Jack- 
son. Whose  ridicule  was  most  pungent  at  his  pretensions  ?  Who  loudest 
to  declare  that  his  election  would  be  a  curse  to  the  country  ?  Sir,  they 
were  the  mere  party  hacks,  the  professional  politicians,  who  found  mat- 
ter for  alarm  in  the  very  freshness,  purity,  and  ingenuousness  which 
seemed  to  breath  in  every  line  of  those  letters.  He  was  not  a  safe  Presi- 
dent for  them.  Can  it  be  denied  that  the  men  who  thus  reasoned,  and 
with  whom,  in  Pennsylvania,  we  had  to  struggle,  were  afterwards  rallied 
to  the  contest  by  Mr.  Kitchie  in  the  South,  Mr.  Van  Buren  in  the  North, 
and  Mr.  Benton  in  the  West  ?  His  supposed  virtues  were  a  terror,  and  it 
was  not  then  ascertained  that  his  foibles  and  his  passions  could  be  turned 
to  profitable  account ! 

Sir,  I  well  remember  how  often,  in  those  days,  the  name  of  Hugh  L. 
White  was  upon  our-lips.  When  Gen.  Jackson  was  denounced  as'  a  man 
of  violence  and  outrage,  we  pointed  to  those  who  were  known  to  be  his 
closest  friends,  his  most  confidential  advisers,  and  whose  characters 
afforded  a  guarantee  for  the  manner  in  which  public  affairs  would  ba 
conducted>  Need  I  say  that  foremost  on  the  list  was  Judge  White  ?  All 
had  heard  of,  and  revered,  a  name  identified  with  profound  wisdom,  lofty 
honor,  and  ardent  patriotism.  The  severe  and  fixed  simplicity  of  his  life 
was  believed  to  furnish  the  best  security  that  human  frailty  affords, 
against  mutability  amidst  the  temptations  and  blandishments  of  prosperity 
As  a  commissioner  under  the  Florida  Treaty,  his  reputation  had,  of  late, 
been  more  widely  diffused,  for  indefatigable  industry,  uneri'ing  judgment, 
and  spotless  integrity.  It  was  known  too,  that  his  high  sjiirit  (of  which 
some  flashes  had  been  seen  to-night)  would  for  ever  prevent  his  becoming 
a  tool  of  power,  or  being  approached  by  grovelling  and  sinister  influences. 

At  the  end  of  vsixteen  years,  I  am  in  the  presence  of  this  man  !  And 
how  crowded  with  great  events  are  these  memorable  years !  Who  are 
now  to  be  found  in  the  pride  of  power  and  place,  under  the  protection  of  tL , 
name  of  Jackson  ?  The  very  spoilers  who  trembled  at  the  lofty  aspira 
tion  of  his  outset;  but  who  found,  at  length,  with  the  cunning  of  theli 
tribe,  that  by  ministering  to  his  passions  he  could  be  made  to  minister  tf 
their  interest  and  advancement.    And  where  is  our  guest  ?     The  same  as 


409  MEMOm    OF    HUGH    LAW80N    WHITE. 

in  1824,  unchanged,  unchangeable ;  faithful  amongst  the  perfidious  ;  pure 
amongst  the  sordid  ;  the  victim  of  his  virtues,  v?ith  the  crown  of  martyr- 
dom upon  his  brow ! 

Sir,  it  cannot  be  that  such  triumphs  over  integrity  and  moral  worth 
are  to  be  perpetual.  In  those  days  of  the  revolution,  to  which  our  vene- 
rable friend  has  so  touchingly  alluded,  the  prospect  often  seemed  darker 
and  more  appalling.  At  Brandywine,  our  fathers  had  to  give  way  before 
Howe — backed  as  he  was  by  the  corps  of  Hessians,  under  Kniphausen, 
and  Coimt  Donop.  The  Capital  was  taken.  And  may  we  not  take  it 
as  an  omen,  that  he  who  in  after  years  became  the  guest  of  the  nation, 
was  on  that  occasion  trodden  upon  under  foot  by  mercenaries,  and  des- 
perately wounded,  yet  lived  to  take  part  in  the  great  triumph  at 
Yorktown  ? 

Mr.  President,  it  is  not  for  us,  as  I  very  well  know,  to  read  lessons  to 
the  gallant  State  of  Tennessee.  Her  spirit  would  take  fire.  She  will 
permit  no  interference  with  her  domestic  differences.  It  is  for  her  and 
her  only  to  say,  how  she  will  regard  this  attempt  to  stigmatize  her 
venerable  statesman  in  the  high  presence  of  this  whole  Union.  Denunci- 
ation from  us  would  but  wound  the  ear  of  our  honored  guest,  who  kindles 
at  even  a  sarcasm  against  Tennessee,  from  the  lips  of  strangers.  He  has 
told  us  that  he  goes  home  with  no  rankling  in  his  bosom,  but  to  seek 
repose  and  a  final  resting-place : — 

"  An  old  man  broken  with  the  storms  of  State, 
Is  come  to  lay  his  weary  bones  among  ye  ; 
Give  Lim  a  little  earth  for  charity." 

Yes,  he  asks  but  for  a  little  earth — yet  it  must,  in  charity,  be  the  earth 
of  Tennessee.  He  would  fain  take  his  last  sleep  amidst  those  hills  and 
streams  and  valleys  that  he  loves  so  dearly  ;  where  each  inanimate  object 
may  often  times  cast  back  the  glow  of  other  days  upon  the  chillness  of 
age ;  and  where  stands,  in  sacred  privacy,  the  domestic  altar  at  which 
his  heart  has  ministered  from  youth  upwards !  No,  sir,  no  !  tliis  is  not 
the  place  for  invective.  Yet  may  we  not  hope  that  a  better  and  a  kinder 
feeling  will  spring  up  ?  Can  it  be  that  this  savage  cry  of  exultation 
over  prostrate  integrity,  is  to  be  for  ever  heard  ?  Can  it  be  that,  while 
the  hearts,  even  of  strangers,  weep  at  this  spectacle  of  degradation,  it 
shall  be  gloated  over  in  triumph  by  those  who  are  the  friends,  the  neigh- 
bors, the  daily  companions  of  the  victim  ?     I  will  not  believe  it. 

Our  excellent  guest  is  about  to  leave  us.  Let  him  on  his  return, 
appeal,  I  will  not  say  from  Philip  drunk  to  Philip  sober,  but  from  the 
Jacksonism  of  1839,  to  the  Jacksonism  of  1824 !  Can  we  doubt  that  on 
such  an  appeal,  justice,  good  faith,  consistency,  fidelity  to  principle,  may 
be  triumphantly  ralHed  ?  Sir,  I  will  not  despair ;  and,  in  view  of  such  a 
resurrection  (if  you  will  pardon  the  term)  I  propose  to  you 

"  The  Future  State  of  Tennessee." 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


JOUKNEY    HOME. 


Soon  after  the  scene  just  described,  Judge  White  set  out  for  home. 
At  almost  every  step,  he  was  greeted  with  spontaneous  and  hearty 
applause.  At  Lexington,  Va.,  a  public  dinner  was  tendered  him,  the 
acceptance  of  which,  however,  in  consequence  of  the  uncertain  state 
of  his  health  and  the  long  journey  before  him,  he  was  compelled  to 
decline. 

As  he  drew  near  his  own  State,  he  met  a  deputation  of  citizens 
from  Sullivan  County,  inviting  him  to  attena  a  public  dinner,  at 
Kingsport.  Similar  manifestations  of  respect  were  shown  him  at 
every  town  from  the  Tennessee  line  to  Knoxville.  He  invariably 
declined  these  invitations  ;  but,  when  he  reached  these  several  places, 
he  was  forced  to  accept  their  hospitalities,  everything  beino-  in  readi- 
ness for  his  entertainment.  These  manifestations  bore  a  superabound- 
ing  testimony  to  the  high  appreciation  that  the  people  placed  upon 
his  eminent  public  virtues  and  private  worth.  This  was  peculiarly  grate- 
ful to  the  heart  of  him  against  whom  the  storms  of  political  injustice 
had  beaten  with  such  violence,  because  it  was  an  affectionate  emana- 
tion from  the  hearts  of  the  dwellers  around  his  own  fireside  ;  of  those 
who  knew  him  best,  and  best  understood  the  motives  that  governed 
all  his  actions.  These  testimonials  were  especially  grateful  from 
their  entire  disinterestedness  and  sincewty.  For  the  people  of  his 
own  State  well  knew,  that  the  days  of  his  political  power  had  passed 
away,  and  that  he  would  never  again  have  public  favors  to  bestow. 

The  malevolence  of  his  enemies,  however,  kept  pace  with  the  affec- 
tions of  his  friends,  and  this  spirit  determined  them  not  to  permit 
him  to  pass  on  his  way  without  insult.  At  Rogersville,  a  number  of 
the  leaders  of  the  party  hung  over  the  principal  street  by  which  the 
town  was  entered,  a  cloth  upon  which  was  written  in  laro-e  letters 
"  Van  Buren  and  Polk,"declaring,  that  Judge  White  should,  by  pass- 
ing under  this,  acknowledge  himself  the  victim  of  the  President  of 

409 


410  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

the  tTnited  States,  and  of  the  Governor  of  Tennessee.  Several  of  the 
most  respectable  citizens  of  Rogersville  requested,  as  a  special  favor, 
that  this  inscription  should  be  removed.  Instead  of  granting  this 
request,  a  band  of  ruffians  rallied  around  it,  to  defend  it  and  prevent 
its  removal  by  force  when  Judge  White  should  reach  the  place. 
Upon  being  informed  of  the  affair,  with  his  usual  disinterested  con- 
sideration for  his  friends  he  requested  to  be  conducted  on  his  way 
by  a  more  unfrequented  route,  declaring  that  "  no  one,  capable  of 
such  disgraceful  conduct,  had  the  power  to  insult  him."  His  ene- 
mies were  thus  denied  the  gratification  of  accomplishing  their  malig- 
nant purpose.  Escorts  of  citizens  accompanied  him  along  the  whole 
route  from  the  Virginia  line  ;  and'  even  in  the  country,  and  by  the 
road-side,  as  he  pursued  his  way,  his  fellow-citizens  greeted  him  with 
smiles  of  aftection,  approbation  and  hearty  acclamations  of  applause. 
A  gentleman  of  Rogersville,  Mr.  Wales,  voluntarily  preceded  Judge 
White,  having  under  his  charge  a  piece  of  artillery,  whose  frequent 
discharges  sent  the  reverberating  echo  through  hill  and  valley, 
announcing  the  coming  of  "  the  man  who  esteemed  honor  dearer  than 
office."  The  banner  that  floated  above  the  gun,  was  surmounted  by 
a  wreath  of  evergreen  presented  by  the  ladies  of  Rogersville,  and 
bore  this  inscription : 

HUGH  L.  WHITE, 

WORTHY      OF      ALL     HONOR 

BOTH   AS 

A   MAN   AND    A   STATESMAN. 

He  now  entered  Knoxville,  the  place  where  he  had  been  reared 
from  his  boyhood,  where  he  was  greeted  by  the  firing  of  cannon,  the 
ringing  of  bells,  and  the  earnest  gaze  of  old  and  young,  who  thronged 
the  streets  to  look  upon  him.  Accompanied  by  a  large  procession  of 
persons  on  horseback,  with  his  aged  head  uncovered,  he  passed  on  to 
his  own  residence,  through  a  multitude,  who  testified  in  various  ways 
the  high  estimation  in  which  they  held  him.  The  following  extract 
from  the  "  Richmond  Whig,"  written  by  a  distinguished  Virginian,  is 
evidence  of  the  high  reputation  he  sustained  abroad,  as  well  as  at 
home : — 

The  name  of  this  gentleman  demands  a  passing  note.  If  there  be 
trath  in  the  adage,  ^'' nemo  felix  ante  mortem,'''' then  is  he  more  to  be 


KETUEN   HOME.  4U 

envied  than  any  man  on  earth.  His  political  life  -was  more  than  half  his 
existonce,  and  he  has  rendered  it  up  and  rendered  up  an  account  of  his 
deeds,  and  received  while  he  yet  lives,  that  judgment  in  which  even  hig 
enemies  concur,  and  which,  therefore,  posterity  must  ratify.  He  lives 
to  read  his  own  epitaph,  and  its  language  is  that  of  praise.  He  lives 
to  hear  the  voice  of  lamentation  at  his  untimely  ftill,  arising  from  all  the 
land.  He  hears  himself  mourned  as  a  father  by  his  children.  He  walks 
among  us  as  though  his  disembodied  spirit  had  returned  to  earth,  and  we 
turn  aside  with  awe,  and  look  upon  him  as  a  thing  not  of  this  world. 
Men  gaze  upon  him,  as  he  passes,  and  the  question  "  Which  is  he  ?"  is 
asked,  not  because  he  is  a  distributor  of  honors  and  emoluments  but 
because  he  has  secured  to  himself  an  honor  which  the  world  o-ave  not 
and  cannot  take  away— an  honor  greater  than  any  the  world  can  give! 
We  have  God's  word  for  it,  that  his  gray  hairs,  worn,  as  they  have  been, 
in  the  "  paths  of  righteousness,"  are  indeed  "  a  crown  of  glory."  May 
God's  peace  rest  and  abide  with  him. 

An  appropriate  requiem  is  found  in  the  following  lines  addressed  by 
an  English  poet  to  an  old  oak,  uprooted  by  a  tempest: 

"  Thou  who  unmoved  hast  heard  the  tempest  chide, 

Full  many  a  winter  round  thy  craggy  bed  ;      ' 

And,  like  an  earth-born  giant  hast  out-spread 
Thy  hundred  arms,  and  heaven's  own  bolt  defied ; 
Now  liest  along  thy  native  mountain's  side 

Cptorn  ;  yet  deem  not  that  I  come  to  shed 

The  idle  drops  of  pity  o'er  thy  head, 
Or  basely  to  insult  thy  blasted  pride. 
No  !  still  'tis  thine,  tho'  fallen,  imperial  oak, 

To  teach  this  lesson  to  the  wise  and  brave  : 
That  'tis  far  better,  overthrown  and  broke. 

In  freedom's  cause  to  sink  into  the  grave, 
Than,  in  submission  to  a  tyrant's  yoke. 

Like  the  vile  reed,  to  bow  and  be  a  slave." 

He  came  back  among  his  old  friends  worn  down  by  severe  illness  • 
having  performed  a  trying  journey  of  thirty-three  day.s,  in  a  state  of 
such  extreme  debility,  that  his  friends  watched  each  day,  with  trem- 
bling, lest  it  should  be  his  last.  Yet,  throughout  all  this  suffering, 
the  public  welfare  continued  to  excite  his  deepest  interest.  The  sub- 
joined letter,  one  of  the  last  which  he  ever  wrote,  shows  that  his 
country,  her  institutions,  and  her  prosperity,  inspired  him  with  the 
profoundest  solicitude. 

My  Friend:— If  towards  any  man  I  ought  to  use  that  term,  I  know 
of  no  one  to  whom  I  can  apply  it  with  a  deeper  conviction  it  is  merited. 
You  have  stuck  to  me  through  good  and  evil  report,  without  ever  falter- 
ing or  making  a  false  or  foolish  move.    The  object  of  this  letter  is  to 


412  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH   LAWSON    WHITE. 

give  you  all  now  in  an  old  man's  power,  and  one  who  feels  on  the  verge 
of  the  grave — my  most  heartfelt  thanks  for  your  kind,  able,  and  eflBcient 
care  of  me  and  my  reputation.  I  am  now  through.  On  the  13th  Jan. 
my  political  hfe  was  terminated  by  my  enemies,  I  have  no  faith  in 
the  political  resurrection  of  old  men ;  but  think  not  I  am  either  mortified 
or  depressed.  Although  I  may  be  placed  hors  de  combat^  I  hope  that 
some  seeds  have  dropped  even  from  the  last  limbs  of  my  decayed  trunk, 
which,  if  watered  and  cherished,  may  yet  bring  forth  fruit  for  the  good 
of  the  country. 

Late  letters  from  some  of  my  colleagues  in  "Washington,  assure  tne  that 
from  every  quarter  the  news  in  relation  to  General  Harrison's  prospects 
are  most  encouraging, 

I  like  your  electoral  ticket  with  the  exception  of  my  name.  That  I 
think  unfortunate,  considering  the  state  of  my  health ;  but  time  will 
show  what  ought  to  be  done,  and  my  rule  is  never  to  act  in  haste. 

"Would  to  God  I  could  be  with  you  a  day  or  two.  I  write  now  to 
show  that  there  is  yet  something  of  me  left,  although  you  will  see  there 
is  very  little  of  either  mental  or  physical  strength. 

Sincerely 

Hugh  L,  "WnrLE. 
A.  A.  Hall,  Esq. 

His  last  prayer  was  answered.  His  country  was  redeemed  from 
the  reproach  which  had  been  thrown  upon  it.  Although  the  grave 
closed  over  him,  before  he  was  permitted  to  witness  that  redemption, 
yet  the  foul  stain,  which  had  been  cast  upon  his  own  fair  fame,  was 
wiped  out  by  an  overwhelming  majority  in  the  Presidential  contest 
of  1840,  a  result  to  which  the  influence  of  bis  speeches  and  actions 
largely  contributed. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


HIS    FAMILY HIS    AFFLICTIONS. 


Judge  White's  social  and  domestic  affections  were  remarkably 
Btrong;  and  so  far  as  his  political  career  withdrew  him  from  the 
sphere  of  their  attractions,  it  was  far  from  delightful  to  him.  He 
loved  home  as  such,  and  seldom  left  it  except  when  business  rendered 
it  necessary. 

In  IVOS  he  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Moore,  daughter  of  his  early 
friend  and  instructor,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Carrick.  She  was  born  in 
Rockbridge  county,  Virginia,  and  possessed  all  the  warmth,  frankness, 
and  generosity  characteristic  of  the  people  of  her  native  State.  Her 
father  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Tennessee.  He  was  the  first 
Presbyterian  minister  who  ever  had  charge  of  a  congregation  in 
Knoxville,  and  was  afterwards  the  founder  and  first  President  of 
Blount  College 

His  daughter  was  but  just  verging  upon  her  fifteenth  year  at  the 
period  of  her  marriage ;  and  although  her  personal  beauty  was  the 
first  cause  of  attraction,  yet,  even  at  that  early  age,  her  capacity  for 
fulfilling  the  important  responsibilities  of  the  position  then  assumed 
soon  developed  itself  and  proved  to  be  of  no  ordinary  grade.  She 
was  early  distinguished  for  her  many  domestic  virtues.  As  a  wife 
she  was  preeminently  faithful  to  all  the  interests  of  her  husband,  kindly 
caring  for  his  personal  comfort,  and  in  his  absence  zealously  watching 
over  his  pecuniary  interests.  Nor  was  her  usefulness  confined  within 
the  limits  of  her  household. 

She  seldom  lost  an  opportunity  of  alleviating  the  distresses  of  the 
miserable  and  destitute. 

It  was  the  will  of  Providence  to  continue  this  conjugal  relation, 
which  was  productive  of  so  much  domestic  happiness,  for  thirty-three 
years.  They  soon  found  themselves  surrounded  by  a  large  family  of 
children.      Four  sons  and  eight  daughters   cemented  this  union — 

413 


414  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE, 

of  whom  two  died  in  infancy,  and  the  remainder  reached  years  of 
maturity. 

For  twenty-five  years  they  lived  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  all  the 
social  pleasures  the  little  world  of  home  could  bestow  ;  and  the  happi- 
ness they  themselves  enjoyed  was  imparted  to  others.  "  Their  house 
was  the  abode  of  every  delight  and  virtue."  *  The  fond  attachment 
of  the  husband  was  manifested  by  the  regard  and  acts  of  kindness 
which  he  showed  to  all  who  were  objects  of  interest  to  her,  and  on 
her  part  was  reciprocated  by  cheerfully  gratifying  the  wants  and  pro- 
moting the  welfare  of  all  his  friends. 

As  parents  they  labored  assiduously  to  "  impress  the  minds  and 
imbue  the  hearts ''  of  their  children  with  all  those  graces  which 
would  alone  fit  them  for  time  and  eternity.  He  was  peculiarly  gifted 
in  awakening  and  encouraging  their  most  confiding  affection,  and  at 
the  same  time  commanding  their  most  profound  respect,  while  she  as 
a  mother,  was  eminently  qualified  to  keep  alive  and  growing  these 
important  principles ;  and  the  result  was,  they  were  happy  in  seeing 
these  objects  of  their  warmest  solicitude,  grow  up  around  them  models 
of  gentleness  and  truth. 

But  the  scene  changed.  Death  entered  their  quiet  and  happy 
home,  in  that  insidious  but  most  fatal  of  all  forms  of  disease,  pul- 
monary consumption ;  and  the  first  born  was  the  first  victim  of  the 
relentless  tyrant.  Carrick,  their  eldest  son,  died  in  1826,  in  the  27th 
year  of  his  age — when,  says  a  cotemporary,  "  the  attainments  of  his 
mind  were  but  just  developing  themselves,  and  yet  already  in  his  pro- 
fession of  the  law,  his  brethren  of  the  bar,  and  the  public  were  ready 
justly  as  well  as  generously,  to  award  him  the  praise  of  almost  unri- 
valled acuteness  and  promise,  and  his  clients  the  most  unbounded 
confidence  in  the  strictness  of  his  integrity  and  the  fidelity  of  his 
course." 

The  following  letter  to  his  friend  James  Park,  Esq.,  the  father-in- 
law  of  his  son,  shows  that  notwithstanding  the  sad  news  was  not 
altogether  unlooked  for,  yet  his  sensibilities  were  completely  over- 
whelmed when  it  reached  him. 

Washington,  Jan.  81«<,  1826. 
My  Dear  Sir. — Be  pleased  to  deliver  the  inclosed  letter  to  Nancy. 
Letters  from  James  and  Doctor  Watkins  had  taught  me  expect  the  sad 
news,  which  this  morning's  mail  brought  me.     That  my  beloved  son  is 

*  Dr.  Foot's  funeral  sermon  upon  Judge  White. 


DOMESfiC    AFFLICnONS.  415 

no  more.  Yes,  that  Carrick  is  gone,  gone  forever,  and  that  without  the 
farewell  of  his  father.  Dreadful,  heart-rending,  and  life  embittering 
thought ! 

I  am  incapable  of  offering  any  advice  about  anything.  I  should  bo 
glad  to  hear  from  you,  who  are  capable  of  deriving  consolation  in  tho 
midst  of  all  misfortunes,  from  sources  of  which  I  have  no  right  to  draw. 

Most  sincerely  yours, 

^  _  '  Hu.  L.  "White. 

James  Pake,  Esq. 

From  this  time  his  domestic  life  became  a  scene  of  constant  trial. 
The  destroyer  severed  in  rapid  succession  the  ties  of  affection..  From 
time  to  time  he  was  doomed  to  drink  still  more  deeply  of  the  bitter 
cup  of  sorrow,  which  only  a  parent's  heart  can  know  as  he  sees  the 
objects  of  bis  fondest  hopes,  in  the  full  prime  of  manhood,  and  in  the 
full  blush  of  womanhood  sinking  one  after  another  into  premature 
decay.  Early  in  the  year  1827,  another  daughter  and  daughter-in- 
law  passed  away. 

In  anticipation  of  the  calamity,  he  again  writes  to  the  same  friend. 

Senate  Chamber,  Fei.  eth,  1827. 

Deae  Sie:— Your  favor  of  the  22d  January  is  this  moment  received. 
Your  previous  letter  loitered  long  by  the  way.  I  answered  it  immediately 
after  it  was  received. 

I  have  for  some  time  been  desirous  to  write  to  Nancy  and  to  Lucinda ; 
but  cannot  bring  myself  to  write  to  either. 

For  some  weeks  I  have  been  under  the  belief  that  even  the  painful 
satisfaction  of  ever  seeing  either  of  them  in  this  life  is  not  to  be  afforded 
me. 

I  already  feel  as  though  they  were  lost  to  me ;  the  affliction  you  realise 
T  know  :  But  "  shall  we  receive  good  and  not  be  prepared  to  submit  to 
affliction  from  the  hand  of  the  Lord  ?" 

I  have  no  news. 

Your  friend, 

T  .„  _  Hu.  L.  WniTE. 

James  Park,  Esq. 

On  this  occasion  his  fears  were  not  fully  realised.  He  arrived  at 
home  on  the  morning  of  the  20th  March,  and  his  daughter  Lucinda, 
of  whom  he  writes  in  this  letter,  died  on  the  evening  of  the  same  day. 
So  that  she  died  not,  without  giving  a  parting  look  of  recognition  to 
the  father  she  loved  so  tenderly. 

The  year  1828  was  more  fatal  to  him  than  any  which  had  preceded  it. 


416  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

In  this  year  bis  second  daughter,  Mrs.  Mary  L.  Swan,  who  had  been 
married  but  eight  months,  died.  The  following  July  his  eldest  daughter, 
Betsey,  relict  of  Newton  Scott,  died.  "  She  was  early  taught  by  the 
death  of  her  husband,  but  a  few  months  after  their  marriage,  the  entire 
instability  of  all  earthly  expectations,  and  she  had  the  happiness  to 
profit  in  the  school  of  adversity."  In  November  of  the  same  year  he 
was  deprived  of  his  second  son,  James,  under  circumstances,  if  possible 
still  more  distressing.  Soon  after  obtaining  a  license  to  practise  law, 
he  removed  to  Huntsville,  Ala.,  and  commenced  his  professional 
career.  He  had  remained  there  but  a  few  years,  when  his  course  was 
arrested  by  disease.  He  then  returned  with  his  family  to  Knoxville,  in 
the  hope  of  recovering  his  health.  At  the  approach  of  winter  he 
sought  a  milder  climate,  presuming  it  would  be  more  congenial  to 
his  constitution,  and  assist  in  the  restoration  of  his  strength  ;  but  he 
was  unable  to  proceed  farther  than  Tuscaloosa,  where  he  died, 
without  the  affectionate  care  of  wife,  mother  or  sister,  to  watch  over 
his  helpless  hours  of  sickness,  to  soothe  his  pains,  or  minister  to  his 
infirmities. 

Says  a  friend,  in  writing  of  this  son :  "  In  his  profession,  though  young, 
he  was  conspicuous ;  though  his  career  was  short,  it  was  brilliant.  He 
was  argumentative  and  eloquent,  ingenious  and  profound,  and  had  ^ 
fair  prospect  of  obtaining  a  preeminent  reputation." 

Although  Judge  White's  heart  was  filled  v?ith  profound  sorrow  at 
these  untimely  losses,  yet  there  was  no  murmuring  or  repining.  His 
entire  submission  to  the  Divine  will  in  these  bereavements  will  be 
seen  from  the  following  letter  to  Dr.  Coffin,  President  of  East  Tennessee 
College,  and  former  preceptor  of  his  sons. 

Washington,  Dec.  Uh  1828. 
Dear  Sir. — By  the  mail  which  arrived  this  morning  I  received  a  letter 
from  Tuscaloosa,  which  gave  the  sorrowful  information  that  James  is  no 
more.  Believing,  when  I  parted  with  him,  tliat  we  would  never  meet 
again  in  time,  I  had  been  striving  to  reconcile  my  mind  to  such  a  separa- 
tion, and  hoped  that  I  could  hear  of  his  death  with  composure,  but  while 
there  was  life  there  was  also  hope,  and  I  found  the  news  had  an  effect  I 
did  not  anticipate.  In  and  by  my  children  I  expected  to  obtain  my  dis- 
tinction while  I  lived,  and- by  the  same  medium  to  be  known  to  posterity. 
My  leading  object  was  to  deserve  the  reputation  of  integrity,  to  acquire 
funds  equal  to  a  comfortable  support,  and  to  the  giving  them  a  good  edu- 
cation. Providence  fiivored  these  endeavors  to  every  desirable  extent. 
"With  my  elder  children,  good  dispositions  and  an  aptitude  to  learn,  it 


LETTER   TO   DR.  COFFIX.  417 

appeared  to  mc,  were  found  united.  My  assiduous  attention  was  given 
to  inculcate,  in  the  first  place,  the  value  of  good  morals,  and  in  the  next, 
to  create  a  strong  desire  for  the  improvement  of  tlieir  minds.  I  was 
flattered  in  the  belief  that  I  had  succeeded,  and  they  had  become  my  most 
mtimate  companions.  I  was  proud  of  tliem,  tliey  were  just  as  I  had 
desired  they  should  be.  Now,  where  are  they  ?  Of  twelve,  only  five 
younger  ones  remain.  Seven  luxve  had  their  state  of  probation,  and  have 
passed  to  their  everlasting  home.  Good  God  !  I  am  forced  to  realize  the 
solemn  thought,  that  they  and  I  never  can  see  each  other  in  time.  Tliis 
is  a  heart-rending  reflection,  which  I  can  hardly  summon  up  fortitude 
enougli  to  bear.     So  it  is,  and  I  must  submit  to  it. 

In  the  midst  of  all  these  bereavements  I  have  had,  and  continue  to  have 
some  sources  of  high  consolation.  Of  the  five  who  were  grown,  no  one 
was  addicted  to  any  one  vice,  so  far  as  I  know.  If  not  entitled  to  the 
appellation  of  pious,  each  of  tliem  was  at  least  moral.  It  pleased  God  so 
far  to  restrain  tliem,  that  each  of  them  lived  esteemed,  and  died  without 
having  done  any  act  disgraceful,  in  the  estimation  of  society.  They  were 
so  far  favored  that  each  died  of  a  slow,  and  lingering  complaint,  seldom 
if  ever  deprived  of  the  full  exercise  of  their  reason.  They  were  thus 
enabled  solemnly  to  review  their  short  lives,  to  repent  of  all  departures 
from  the  Will  of  their  Maker,  and  to  pray  for  forgiveness  to  that  Bein- 
who  alone,  has  the  power  to  pardon.  "^ 

While  spared  to  me  I  had  all  the  satisfaction  with  them,  and  believe 
they  had  with  me,  which  can  reasonably  be  expected  between  a  father 
and  his  children.     Enabled  by  the  blessing  of  Providence  to  supply  all 
their  temporal  wants,  and  having  done  so  with  the  most  heart-felt  satis- 
faction, and  they  in  return  having  given  me  not  only  their  gratitude  but 
their  fondest  filial  love,  I  see  not  why  I  ought  to  grieve.     "The  Lord 
gave  them  "  to  me.  He  made  them  a  blessing  to  me  while  here,  "He  hath 
taken  them  away,"  and  surely  I  ought  to  add,  "  blessed  be  the  name  of 
the  Lord."     He  knew  best  when  to  give  them,  how  long  to  permit  them 
to  remain,  and  when  and  how  to  remove  them  to  that  place,  as  I  hope 
"  where  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling  and  the  weary  are  at  rest."        ' 
If,  according  to  my  blind  wishes,  he  had  permitted  either  of  them  to 
have  lived  in  health,  a  week,  or  even  one  day  longer,  they  might  have  com- 
mitted some  act  more  distressing  than  their  death.     I  will' then  try  to  be 
satisfied.     He  who  removed  them  hence  knows  all  things,  and  orders 
everything  for  the  best.     Therefore  His  will,  not  mine  be  done. 

Present  me  in  terms  of  kindness  to  your  good  lady  and  your  children 
and  believe  that,  ' 

I  am,  with  the  highest  regard  and  esteem, 
Your  most  ob't  servant, 

r»    *     n  ^  ^^-  ^-  White. 

Doctor  Uhakles  Coffin. 

27    '  '         * 


418  MEMOIK    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

Two  other  daughters  soon  followed.  la  January  1829,  Ms  fifth 
daughter,  Cynthia,  died  at  the  age  of  seventeen ;  and  Melinda,  his 
sixth  daughter,  in  Aj^ril  1830,  at  the  age  of  fifteen. 

Though  the  recital  of  so  many  similar  events  has  made  the  scene 
familiar,  yet  we  have  now  to  record  one,  if  possible,  of  more  melan- 
choly importance.  The  malady  which  had  carried  away  the  chil- 
dren, demanded  also  the  mother.  In  the  autumn  of  1830,  she  was 
attacked  with  illness,  and  to  avoid  a  separation,  accompanied  her 
husba,nd  to  Washington,  where  she  lingered  through  the  winter. 
All  hopes  being  abandoned  of  her  restoration  to  health,  her  only  wish 
now  seemed  to  be,  to  reach  home,  and  see  those  of  her  family  who 
remained  behind.  She  and  her  husband  left  Washinijton  on  the  5th 
March  and  travelled  at  the  rate  of  ten  or  twelve  miles  a  day. 

She  continued  to  decline,  and  died  on  the  25th  March  1831,  at  a 
public  house  near  the  Natural  Bridge  in  Virginia,  in  the  same  county 
in  which  she  was  born.  Her  remains  were  placed  in  a  coffin,  and 
brought  to  Knoxville,  three  hundred  and  twenty  miles,  and  deposited 
in  their  ancestral  burying  place. 

Although  there  were  friends  with  him,  who  would,  have  done  him 
any  act  of  kindness,  yet  lest  the  carriage  should  be  rudely  driven,  the 
mourning  husband  undertook  the  sad  task,  and  carefully  conducted 
her  lifeless  form  to  its  last  resting-place. 

The  day  preceding  his  arrival  at  home,  he  was  met  by  a  number 
of  his  friends  and  neighbors,  who  remained  with  him  all  night,  and 
by  many  acts  of  personal  kindness,  softened  the  private  afflictions  he 
had  been  doomed  to  suffer,  and  enabled  him  to  remain  at  his  post, 
and  fearlessly  and  unfalteringly  to  discharge  his  duty  to  them  and  his 
country. 

His  fourth  daughter,  Margaret  W.  Alexander,  upon  learning  her 
mother's  real  situation,  requested  to  be  taken  to  her.  Her  friends, 
knowing  the  difficulties  and  dangers  which  must  attend  a  trip 
througli  the  valley  of  Virginia,  at  that  inclement  season,  attempted 
to  dissuade  her  from  it.  For  a  while  she  acquiesced  and  endeavored 
to  comply  with  her  father's  injunction  to  remain  at  home.  But 
finally,  upon  hearing  of  the  low  condition  of  her  mother,  she  could 
not  be  dissuaded  from  her  purpose.  She  left  home  in  company  with 
her  husband,  and  reached  the  Natural  Bridge  on  the  morning  of  the 
26th,  too  late  to  receive  the  parting  blessing  of  her  parent.  From 
exposure  consequent  upon  this  trip,  she  contracted  the  same  disease, 
and  died  the  folio win^r  September. 


DOMKSTIC    AFFLICTIONS.  4ig 

But  few  men  have  ever  been  so  severely  chastened.  Death  was  so 
continually  and  so  suddenly  destroying  all  around  him,  that  in  the 
short  space  of  six  years  he  was  called  to  resign  the  companion  of 
his  youth  and  eight  grown  children,  and  so  rapidly  that  four  were  con- 
signed to  the  tomb  in  the  short  space  of  nine  months.  The  duties  of 
his  position  were  such,  that  he  had  the  privilege  of  being  with  onlv 
three  out  of  the  number  in  their  last  hours.  Even  his  wife,  whose 
fortitude  never  forsook  her,  amidst  those  multiplied  trials,  was'deuied 
the  comfort  of  his  presence. 

These  afflictive  dispensations  produced  their  legitimate  results. 
Under  the  first  bereavements  he  turned  tremulously  away  from  God 
as  one  who  felt  he  had  no  claims  upon  His  promise  of  sustaining 
grace ;  but  as  renewed  strokes  of  chastening  from  a  kind  Father's  hand 
were  laid  upon  him,  he  bowed  submissively,  not  only  acknowledo-inj. 
the  power,  but  the  goodness  of  God.  "^ 

He  now  found  himself  alone  with  "the  recollection  of  what  they 
were  ;"  and  still  so  strong  were  his  attachments  for  home  tliat  ho 
preferred  remaining  by  his  now  desolate  hearthstone  to'  seekin-r 
enjoyment  elsewhere.  It  was  at  this  period  that  he  was  more  than 
ever  resolved  upon  retiring  from  public  life,  but  was  induced  to  sacrifice 
his  personal  feelings  to  the  interests  of  his  friends  and  the  public 

Out  of  twelve,  two  children  were  all  that  were  left  him  •  a  son 
hged  SIX  years,  and  a  daughter  aged  nine.  ' 

_  His  grandchildren  now^shared  with  his  children  his  paternal  soli- 
citude. His  sons  left  four  children,  and  his  eldest  daughter  one  • 
the  latter  was  reared  in  his  own  house-and  the  education  of  all  was 
his  peculiar  care.  But  while  engaged  in  discharging  his  duty  to  the 
living,  he  did  not  forget  the  sacred  debt  he  owed  to  those  who  were 
no  more.  Upon  leaving  and  returning  home  his  first  and  last  visits 
were  to  their  quiet  resting-place.  This  habit  continued  with  him 
throughout  life,  and  proved  that  their  virtues  were  embalmed  in  his 
memory. 

In  November,  1882,  Judge  White  formed  a  second  marriage  with 
r.  ."^f  ^'^''°'  "^  Washington  City,  a  lady  of  fine  mind  and 
polished  address,  with  whom  he  lived  eight  years,  in  great  happiness, 
and  from  whom  he  was  seldom  separated.  She  proved  herself  an 
affectionate  and  devoted  wife,  and  shared  a  large  portion  of  his  last 
thoughts.  She  survived  her  husband  seven  years,  and  died  at  his 
residence  near  Knoxville,  in  April,  1847.  Her  remains  were  taken 
by  her  req-uest  to  Washington,  and  interred  by  the  side  of  her  daughter 


CHAPTER    XX. 

HIS    DEATH. 

Judge  White's  health  was  somewhat  impaired,  in  consequence  of  an 
attack  of  pneumonia,  which  he  had  before  leaving  Washington.  The 
fatigue  and  exposure  of  travelling  at  so  inclement  a  season  of  the  year, 
caused  his  disease  to  tei-rainate  in  pulmonary  consumption.  As  soon  as 
he  found  himself  upon  the  soil  of  his  own  State,  the  very  air  of  Ten- 
nessee seemed  to  exert  a  reviving  and  invigorating  influence  upon  his 
health.  After  he  reached  home,  he  so  far  improved,  that  he  was  able 
to  take  an  interest  in  everything  around  him  ;  and  his  mind  was  con- 
stantly  employed  in  devising  plans  for  the  future  comfort  of  his 
family.  He  made  a  contract  for  building  on  his  farm  (two  miles  dis-. 
tant  from  his  residence)  where,  as  he  frequently  expressed  himself,  he 
would  pass  the  remainder  of  his  life  with  his  wife  and  children. 

His  physical  strength  did  not  entirely  forsake  him  to  the  very  last. 
He  was  able  to  take  his  accustomed  rides  of  one  or  two  miles, 
almost  daily,  either  on  horseback  or  in  a  carriage,  which  gave  his 
friends  cause  to  hope  his  life  might  yet  be  prolonged.  On  the  8th  of 
April  he  rode  four  miles  in  a  carriage,  but  was  unable  to  sit  up  all 
the  way.  This  was  the  last  exercise  he  took.  On  the  9th,  the  day 
previous  to  his  death,  he  did  not  leave  home,  but  sat  up  the  greater 
part  of  the  day  and  until  a  late  hour  at  night,  and  was  unusually 
cheerful.  He  slept  as  comfortably  as  usual  until  two  o'clock,  a.  m., 
when  it  was  discovered  that  his  cough  was  changed.  The  abscess  on 
his  lungs  had  broken,  and  being  too  feeble  to  discharge  it,  he  lived 
about  six  hours,  suffering  apparently  little  pain,  and  died  at  half-past 
eight  o'clock,  on  the  morning  of  the  10th  of  April,  1840.  To  the 
last  hour  of  his  life  the  vigor  of  his  intellect  remained  unabated. 
Although  unable  to  talk  much,  he  was  perfectly  conscious,  and  occa- 
sionally expressed  great  «oncern  about  his  family. 

420 


HIS   DEATH.  421 

He  never  made  any  public  profession  of  religion  ;  but,  from  the  pious 
precepts  and  examples  placed  before  him  in  early  life,  he  imbibed  a 
veneration  for  all  its  institutions.  He  believed  that  religion  consisted 
more  in  doing  right,  from  a  sense  of  obligation  to  the  Supreme  Being, 
than  in  forms  and  ceremonies.  His  resignation  to  the  Divine  will, 
and  confidence  in  his  acceptance  with  God,  was  full  and  perfect.  A 
few  days  before  his  death  he  was  visited  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Foot,  presi- 
dent elect  of  Washington  College,  who  conversed  with  him  fully  and 
freely  upon  the  subject  of  his  approaching  change.  Judge  White  was 
a  firm  believer  in  Christianity  as  revealed  in  the  Bible,  and  as 
expounded  by  orthodox  Christians.  He  had  entire  faith  in  the  plan 
of  atonement.  He  affirmed  in  his  last  hours,  that  "  having  made  it 
a  point  through  life,  to  do  all  the  good  in  his  power,  and  as  little  harm 
as  possible,  and  placing  a  firm  reliance  on  the  merits  of  Christ  to 
supply  all  the  deficiencies  incident  to  human  frailty,  he  now  had  no 
more  fear  of  appearing  in  the  presence  of  his  Heavenly  Father,  than 
he  would  in  that  of  a  kind,  earthly  parent. 

When  the  intelligence  of  his  death  reached  the  town,  all  business 
was  immediately  suspended.  The  Chancery  Court,  which  was  in  ses- 
sion, adjourned  over  to  the  ensuing  day. 

His  body  Tvas  interred  in  the  burial  ground  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  on  Sunday,  at  two  o'clock,  p.  m.,  and  was  followed  to  the  grave 
by  an  immense  concourse  of  citizens.  The  procession  left  his  late  resi- 
dence in  the  following  order  : — Clergy  —members  of  the  medical  pro- 
fession— ^judges  and  members  of  the  bar — pall-bearers — the  body — 
relatives  of  the  deceased — trustees  of  East  Tennessee  University — 
president  and  professors  of  East  Tennessee  University — students  of 
the  University — principal  and  students  of  Hampden  Sydney  Academy 
— citizens.  Immediately  behind  the  body  of  the  deceased,  followed 
his  riding  horse,  Rienzi,  with  saddle  and  bridle,  but  without  rider; 
whose  slow  and  measured  tread  seemed  to  betoken  that  he,  too,  sadly 
felt  the  loss  of  his  master,  and  called  forth  a  fresh  burst  of  grief  from 
his  friends  and  fellow  citizens. 

Appropriate  services  were  held  at  both  the  house  and  grave.  After 
which  the  assembly  dispersed  ;  and  all  classes  of  the  community  seemed 
to  feel  that  they  had  been  called  to  mourn  a  heavy  calamity. 

A  plain  tomb-stone  marks  the  spot  where  rest  the  ashes  of  this  ffood 
and  great  man,  with  the  following  simple  inscrii^tion  : — 


422  MEMOIK    OF    HTGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

THE   MEMORY  OF 

HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE, 
Who  was  born  Oct.  29th,  1773,  and  departed  this  life  April  Idth,  1840. 


Composed  in  suffering,  and  in  joy  sedate, 
Good  witiiout  noise,  witiiout  pretension  great, 
True  to  his  word,  in  every  tliouglit  sincere. 
He  linew  no  wisli  but  wliat  tiie  world  might  hear. 

This  humble  tribute  of  devoted  affection  and  deep  regret  is  deposited  by  his 

bereaved  wife. 


In  different  parts  of  the  country,  numerous  public  discourses  were 
delivered  on  the  occasion  of  his  death,  and  frequent  testimonials  of 
respect  appeared  in  the  public  journals  of  the  day.  One  is  selected 
from  those  published  in  each  division  of  his  State,  because  of  the 
treatment  he  had  received  from  a  small  portion  of  its  citizens.  An 
account  of  the  meeting-  at  Washington  is  also  given  in  consequence 
of  his  long  residence  and  services  in  that  city.  These  addresses 
were  delivered  by  men  who  had  known  the  deceased  intimately  for 
many  years  both  in  his  public  and  private  capacity;  and  there- 
fore their  testimony  is  entitled  to  confidence. 

On  the  26th  April,  1840  a  funeral  sermon  was  expected  to  have 
been  delivered  in  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Knoxville,  by  the  Rev. 
J.  I.  Foot,  D.  D.,  who  was  killed  by  a  fall  from  his  horse  on  the  20th 
of  the  same  month,  within  a  few  miles  of  Rogersville,  while  on  his 
way  to  Washington  College.  A  part  of  the  sermon  was,  however, 
prepared,  from  Isaiah  xl.  6.  "  The  voice  said,  Cry.  And  he  said, 
What  shall  I  cry  ?  All  flesh  is  grass,  and  all  the  goodliness  thereof 
is  as  the  flower  of  the  field :  The  grass  witliereth,  the  flower 
Jadeth." 

At  a  meeting  of  the  members  of  the  Bar,  at  Knoxville,  Hon. 
Thomas  L.  Williams  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  John  H.  Crozier, 
Esq.,  appointed  secretary. 


PUBLIC    MEETING    AT    KNOXVILLE.  423 

The  lion.  Edward  Scott  presented   the  following  preamble  and 
resolutions,  which  were  unanimously  adopted. 

A   GEEAT  MAN  HAS   FALLEN  IN  ISRAEL ! 

This  day,  about  the  hour  of  nine  o'clock,  at  his  residence  near  this 
place,  the  Hon.  Hugh  L.  Wliite  ceased  to  exist.  Henceforth  he  will  live 
only  in  the  memory  of  his  frieuds  and  his  countrymen.  He  was  cer- 
tainly a  great  and  worthy  man;  a  friend  to  truth,  virtue,  Hberty,  and  the 
Constitution.  His  was  a  life  of  labor  and  activity — a  life  of  usefulness, 
moderation,  regular  conduct,  and  inflexible  integrity.  The  law  was  his 
profession.  By  his  fair,  open,  and  manly  conduct,  he  won  the  sincere 
affection  and  approbation  of  all  his  contemporaries.  He  was  an  agreea- 
ble and  eloquent  speaker.  In  him  were  happily  blended  a  profound  judg- 
ment, and  accomplished  address.  In  him  the  unfortunate  and  the  hon- 
est ever  found  a  protector,  while  the  guilty  were  marked  for  punishment. 
Raised  to  the  highest  office  in  his  profession,  he  did  honor  to  the  station, 
and  was  among  the  greatest,  and  ablest  magistrates  that  ever  lived 
among  us.  Elevated  to  a  seat  in  the  United  State  Senate,  he  maintained 
hat  purity  of  character  which  marked  his  private  life.  He  loved  the  Con- 
stitution, nor  would  he  consent  to  a  forced  construction  of  that  instru- 
ment for  the  opi)ression  of  the  people.  The  future  historian  will  not  fail 
to  record  his  virtues.  We  all  know  that  his  private  character  was  with- 
out blemish;  he  was  an  affectionate  husband,  a  kind  parent  and  a  stead- 
fast friend.  In  short,  he  died  as  he  lived,  a  true  republican,  an  ardent 
advocate  of  the  rights  of  man,  and  an  enemy  to  arbitrary  power. 

Resolved,  That  in  token  of  our  high  respect  and  esteem  for  the  private  virtues,  and  public 
character  of  the  deceased,  we  will  wear  the  usual  badge  of  mourning  for  thirty  days. 

On  motion  of  John  H.  Crozier,  it  was 

Reaolted,  That  the  foregoing  preamble  and  resolutions  be  presented  by  the  Hon.  Edward 
Scott,  on  to-mon-ow  morning,  to  the  Chancery  Court  now  in  session  in  this  place,  with  the 
request  that  the  same  be  entered  on  the  record  of  the  Court. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  to  the  family  and  relatives  of  the  deceased  our  sincere  condolence 
on  their  late  distressing  bereavement,  and  that  the  Secretary  furnish  them  with  a  copy  of 
these  proceedings. 

Thomas  L.  Williams,  Chairman. 
John  H.  Crozier,  Secretary. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Nashville,  Thursday,  the  6th  of 
April,  Col.  George  Wilson  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  Edwin  H. 
Ewing,  Esq.,  appointed  secretary. 


424  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH     LAWSON    WHITE. 

The  chairman  having  stated  the  object  of  the  meeting,  Alien  A. 
Hall  oflered  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions : — 

THE   BEAUTY    OF   I8EAEL   IS   SLAIN   TJPON   THY   HIGH   PLACES. 

Hugh  Lawson  "White  has  passed  off  the  stage  of  the  great  theatre  of 
life !  Well  and  nobly  has  he  sustained  the  high  character  for  whicli  lie 
was  cast.  Would  that  the  curtain  of  mortality  had  not  fallen,  till  the 
epilogue  to  his  eventful  life  had  all  been  acted  out  and  spoken,  in  the 
surely  vindicating  future.  Qnod  scriptum  scriptum  est!  "What  is 
written,  is  written."  Yes !  in  the  court  above,  the  decree — how  truly 
irreversible ! — has  been  entered  up :  and  the  name,  and  virtues  and 
services  of  Judge  White  are  become  the  priceless  inberitance  of  his  coun- 
try. Conspicuous  among  those  of  his  day,  to  whom  it  has  happened  to 
have  lived,  acted  and  spoken  under  the  scrutinizing  eye  of  history,  he 
has  labored  for  the  beneiit  of  his  country,  as  truly  as  ever  a  man  toiled 
for  his  family. 

Illustrious  by  the  eminence  of  his  virtues,  the  usefulness  of  bis  talents, 
the  importance  of  his  functions,  his  character  needs  no  indeterminate 
commendations,  no  accumulated  epithets — no  didactic  reflections.  His 
merits  require  no  exaggeration.  He  had  nothing  to  dissemble.  His  his- 
tory, written  with  faithfulness,  will  be  his  best  eulogium.  "  He  hath  so 
planted  his  honors  in  our  eyes,  and  his  actions  in  our  hearts,  that  for  our 
tongues  to  be  silent,  and  not  confess  so  much,  were  an  ungrateful  injury : 
to  report  otherwise,  were  a  malice,  that  giving  itself  the  he,  would  pluck 
reproof  and  rebuke  from  every  ear  that  heard  it." 

The  spontaneous  feeling  of  unaffected  sorrow,  which  has  here  convened 
the  friends  of  the  deceased,  can  find  but  imperfect  expression  in  these 
extemporaneous  and  preliminary  proceedings.  We  pause  at  the  threshold 
till,  some  orator,  worthy  of  his  subject,  shall  bid  us  enter,  with  becoming 
awe,  the  temple  of  his  fame. 

From  the  age  of  thirteen,  roughly  disciplined  in  the  border  life  of  Ten- 
nessee ;  at  nineteen,  acting  a  manly  part  in  savage  warfare ;  a  judge,  at 
the  early  age  of  twenty-eight,  and  for  twelve  years  giving  universal 
satisfaction  by  able,  and  in  many  instances  important  decisions  ;  twelve 
years  president  of  the  Bank  of  Tennessee,  it  was  always  prosperous  by 
Lis  prudent  and  wise  counsels ;  a  senator  in  the  State  legislature ; 
district  attorney  of  the  United  States  ;  commissioner  between  Virgmia 
and  Kentucky  in  the  settlement  of  important  land  claims,  and  again, 
under  the  Spanish  treaty.  In  all  these  varied  trusts,  equally  honest  and 
capable,  he  was  the  exact,  efficient  man  of  business  ;  twice  was  he  elected 
without  opposition  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  and  on  a  memor- 
able occasion,  when  in  the  conflict  of  gi-eat  principles,  an  arbiter  was 
needed  to  control  giant  minds,  he  was  chosen  to  preside  over  that  body. 


PUBLIC    MEETING   AT   KNOXVILLE.  425 

As  self-poised  and  iiiagnaniinons  in  declining  lionors,  as  in  accepting 
office  ;  he  refused  a  seat  on  tlic  Bench  of  tlie  Supreme  Conrt  of  the  United 
States,  and  more  than  once  a  place  in  the  cahinet  of  the  federal  executive. 
In  a  public  career  of  forty  years,  of  spotless  integrity,  with  a  rare  disin- 
terestedness, he  twice  refused  compensation,  to  a  large  amount,  for  most 
valuable  public  services. 

Nor  is  the  reverse  of  the  medal  less  beautifully  defined.  His  private 
h'fe  exhibited  the  perfect  harmony  of  his  whole  character;  and  so  attrac- 
tive lias  it  ever  been,  that  his  numerous  friends  have  regarded  him  more 
Avitli  the  sentiments  of  paternal  afiection,  and  the  tenderness  of  a  near 
relationship,  than  with  the  ordinary  feelings  which  attach  a  public  man 
to  his  constituents.  Accordingly  they  have  rejoiced  at  his  well  deserved 
success,  or  have  been  indignant  at  the  ungrateful  returns,  which  the  best 
benefactors  often  receive,  and  in  all  vicissitudes,  they  have  felt  his  repu- 
tation dear  to  them  as  their  own  personal  concern,  and  they  still 

"  Wear  him 
In  their  heart's  core ;  ay,  in  their  heart  of  hearts." 

Ungrateful  returns  !    They  were  the  vouchers  of  his  uncompromising 
integrity  and  consistency;  they  were  the  evidences  of  his  greatness! 

When  attacked,  he  defended  himself  beyond  all  ordinary  powers  of 
endurance,  with  the  weapons  of  truth,  and  the  bravery  of  conscious 
uprightness.  That  reputation  which  grows,  as  the  oak,  through  all 
changing  seasons  amidst  alternate  storms,  and  sunshines,  shall  still  be 
firmly  rooted  and  majestic,  when  the  rude  tempests  of  party  strife  are  all 
blown  over.  The  subject  of  our  eulogy  has  been  in  this  triumphant, 
that  his  last  days  were  the  best  witnesses  of  his  worth.  Death  only  could 
subdue  him.  "  Without  fear  and  without  reproach,"  he  had  a  right  to 
demand  an  honorable  discharge ;  but  his  self  sacrificing,  generous  love  of 
country,  brought  Mm  to  the  foremost  place  in  that  hot  fight,  in  which  we 
are  now  engaged.  He  has  died  in  his  armor,  covered  with  glory.  "  His 
end  lamented  by  the  good,  by  none  more  than  by  us." 

"  Dear  let  his  memory  be,  and  proud  his  grave  ! 

And  this  his  epitaph  :  "  He  lived,  he  fought 

For  truth  and  wisdom,  foremost  of  the  brave, 

Him  glory's  idle  fancies  dazzled  not, 
'Twas  his  ambition,  generous  and  great, 
A  life  to  life's  great  end  to  consecrate !" 

"  He  came  to  his  grave  in  fiill  age,  like  as  a  shock  of  corn  oometh  in, 
in  his  season."  Full  of  years,  and  of  just  honors  full,  the  venerable 
White  "  rests  from  his  labors,  and  his  works  do  follow  him." 

It^Mlved,  That  we  lament  the  death  of  the  Hon.  Hugh  L.  White,  as  a  great  calamity;  in 
which  our  sense  of  loss  to  that  cause  to  which  he  was  more  especially  pledged,  in  the  present 
posture  of  public  affairs,  is  merged  in  condolence  with  the  good,  the  enlig!itc::ed,  and  the  libe- 
ral of  all  parties. 


426  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON     WHITE. 

Jtetolved,  That  it  be  suggested  to  the  whig  electors  to  wear  the  usual  badge  of  mourning 
ninety  days. 

liesolved,  That  we  deeply  sympathize  with  the  immediate  family  of  the  deceased,  and  that 
a  copy  of  these  proceedings  be  transmitted  to  them,  as  an  expression  of  our  condolence. 

Resolved,  That  tlie  record  of  these  proceedings,  signed  by  the  Chairman  and  Secretary,  be 
published  in  the  newspapers  at  Nashville. 

Epliraim  11.  Foster,  Esq.,  having  seconded  the  adoption  of  the  fore- 
going preamble  and  resolutions  in  a  few  appropriate  remarks,  they  -were 
adopted  without  a  dissenting  voice.  "Whereupon  the  meeting,  on  motion 
of  Henry  Hollingsworth,  Esq.,  adjourned. 

Geoege  "Wilson^,  Chairman, 

Edwin  H.  Ewing,  Secretary. 

The  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of  Tennessee,  in  session  at  Jackson, 
on  receiving  the  melancholy  intelligence  of  the  death  of  the  Hon. 
Hugh  L.  White,  immediately  adjourned ;  after  which  the  members 
of  the  Bar  of  West  Tennessee,  in  attendance  on  the  Supreme  Court, 
convened  at  the  court-house  for  the  purpose  of  paying  a  tribute  of 
respect  to  the  memory  of  the  deceased. 

Whereupon,  on  motion  of  Adam  Huntsman,  Esq.,  P.  M.  Miller 
Esq.,  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  Micajah  Bullock,  Esq.  and  Austin 
Miller,  Esq.,  were  appointed  secretaries. 

Henry  G.  Smith,  Esq.,  then  offered  the  following  preamble  and 
resolutions,  which  were  unanimously  adopted  : 

Information  having  been  this  day  received  of  the  death  of  the  Hon. 
Hugh  L.  White,  of  Knoxville,  formerly  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
this  State,  and  long  a  distinguished  member  of  our  profession  ;  as  a  tes- 
timonial of  respect  to  his  memory,  due  alike  for  his  eminent  public  ser- 
vices, for  his  great  private  worth,  to  the  purity,  propriety,  and  dignity, 
of  bis  long  and  active  life,  the  members  of  the  Bar  of  West  Tennessee  in 
attendance  upon  the  Supreme  Court  at  Jackson,  assembled  for  the  pur- 
pose of  declaring  their  sentiments : — 

Jiesolved,  That  in  his  death  the  Bar  of  this  State  has  sustained  the  loss  of  a  most  distin- 
guished member  and  ornament ;  the  people  of  Tennessee,  of  a  long  tried  and  faithful  servant; 
society,  of  a  good  and  useful  citizen  ;  his  family,  of  a  kind  father  and  affectionate  husband; 
mankind,  of  one  of  the  noblest  of  the  race. 

And,  therefore,  that  we  are  penetrated  with  feelings  of  an  unfeigned  sorrow  and  regret  upon 
the  occasion  of  his  death ;  and  that  the  members  of  the  Bar  of  AVest  Tennessee,  assembled  at 
this  meeting,  respectfully  and  affectionately  tender  their  condolence  and  sympathy  to  his 
bereaved  family. 

liesolved,  That  a  copy  of  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  be  presented  to  the  Supreme  Court 
at  this  place,  with  the  request  that  the  same  may  be  entered  on  the,  minutes  of  the  court;  and 
that  a  copy  be  addressed  to  the  family  of  the  deceased  ; 


TROCEEDINGS    OF   THE   BAR    AT   JACKSON'.  427 

And  that  a  copy  be  furnished  for  the  press,  with  a  request  that  the  proceedings  may  be  pub« 
khed; 
And  that  tlie  same  be  signed  by  the  Chairman  and  Secretaries. 


"Whereupon  the  meeting  adjourned. 
M. 


P.  M.  MiLLEE,  Chairman. 


[.  Bullock,  ) 
L.  Miller,     j 


.    ^r  (    Secretaries. 

Jackson,  April,  IS,  1S40. 


And  afterwards,  on  Monrlay,  the  20th  day  of  April,  the  resolutions 
above  were  presented  to  the  court  at  its  opening  in  the  morning,  with 
the  request  that  they  might  be  entered  on  the  minutes  of  the  court. 
The  request  was  promptly  complied  with,  and  the  following  response 
to  the  motion  was  made  by  his  honor  Judge  Reese,  presiding  on 
behalf  of  the  court : — 

"We  have  been  requested  to  cause  to  be  spread  upon  the  records  of  this 
court,  a  copy  of  the  proceedings  of  a  meeting  of  the  members  of  the  bar  of 
"West  Teimessee,  in  attendance  ac  the  present  term,  intended  by  them  as  a 
testimonial  of  their  regret  for  the  deatli,  and  their  respect  for  the  memory 
of  the  Hon.  Hugh  L.  "White.  "We  promptly  and  cordially  assent  to  this 
request. 

"We  received  with  the  liveliest  sensibility  and  profoundest  regret,  the 
melancholy  intelligence  that  one  so  long  and  so  eminently  distinguished, 
as  a  member  of  our  profession,  and  as  a  judge  of  this  court,  is  no  more 
to  be  numbered  among  the  living.  The  individual  upon  whom  has 
devolved  the  duty  of  responding  to  the  request  of  the  gentlemen  of  the 
bar,  has  known  the  deceased  intimately  for  the  last  twenty  years.  The 
traits  of  his  character  were  strongly  marked.  His  intellect  was  unusually 
active,  acute,  clear,  and  vigorous.  He  had  great  firmness  of  purpose  and 
energy  of  will,  and  if  his  tenqier  w^is  ardent,  and  his  emotions  sometimes 
intense,  he  had  a  prudence,  discretion  and  fairness  which  directed  his 
efforts  to  right  ends  by  the  use  of  proper  means.  His  professional  career 
commenced  about  the  time  when  this  State  became  a  member  of  the 
Union,  and  he  rose  at  once  to  honorable  distinction.  Althougli  his 
preparation,  scholastic  and  professional,  as  might  be  expected  from 
the  character  of  the  country  and  the  times,  was  rather  accurate  and  use- 
ful, than  extensive ;  still,  such  were  the  endowments  of  his  mind,  and  the 
strength  of  his  character,  that  for  forty-five  years,  and  to  the  last,  he 
kept  up  with  the  improveuicnts  of  society  and  the  development  of  our 
institutions,  and  never  lost  that  position  in  the  very  first  rank  of  his  pro- 
fession with  which  he  set  out.  As  a  lawyer,  he  was  ever  at  his  post  and 
always  prepared.  As  a  speaker  at  the  bar,  he  was  animated,  argumen- 
tative and  eminently  impressive;  force  and  perspicuity  were  his  striking 


428  MEMOIR   OP   HUGH   LAWSON   WHITE. 

attributes.  As  a  judge,  he  was  courteous,  dignified,  impartial  and  able. 
This  elevated  station  he  reached  at  an  early  age,  and  he  largely  contri. 
buted  by  the  purity  of  his  personal  character  and  the  energy,  wisdom  and 
justice  of  his  official  actions,  to  impress  upon  a  new  community  that 
respect  for,  and  submission  to,  an  enlightened  administration  of  the  law, 
which  has  in  all  times  and  under  all  circumstances  since,  so  honorably 
distinguished  them. 

The  moral  qualities  of  Hugh  L.  White  were  of  the  first  order.  Truth, 
that  basis  upon  which  must  rest  all  the  virtues  he  strongly  loved,  and 
scrupulously  practised.  His  integrity  was  inflexible  ;  no  example  of 
others,  no  fashion  of  the  times  could  tempt  him,  for  a  moment,  into  any 
transaction,  questionable  in  the  motives,  or  equivocal  in  the  tendency. 
He  was  an  honest  man,  and  ever  kept  his  escutcheon  stainless ;  and  this 
he  himself  regarded  as  the  highest  and  most  honorable  point  in  personal 
character.  As  a  husband,  a  father  and  neighbor,  he  was  all  that  a  man, 
such  as  we  have  described  him,  could  be  expected  to  be.  His  long  and 
active  life  brought  him  in  contact  with  society  at  points  which  we  mean 
not  here  to  discuss.  He  was  much  in  the  political  service  of  his  country : 
even  here  we  may  be  permitted  to  express  the  individual  conviction  that 
the  period  is  not  distant,  when  the  turmoils  of  the  present  moment  having 
passed  by,  few,  if  any,  of  his  countrymen  will  be  found  to  question  the 
motives  of  his  public  conduct,  or  to  deny  that,  in  all  the  solid  and  essen- 
tial qualities  of  a  virtuous  patriot  and  an  enlightened  statesman,  he  was 
eminently  distinguished  among  the  men  of  his  time. 

Upon  Judge  White's  death  being  aunounced  in  the  Senate  by  his 
successor,  Mr.  Alexander  Anderson,  the  motion  for  the  customary 
honors  to  be  paid  to  his  memory  was  seconded  by  Mr.  Preston  of 
South  Carolina,  who  at  the  same  time  pronounced  the  following  brief 
and  merited  eulogy  upon  the  virtues  of  the  deceased : 

"I  do  not  know,  Mr.  President,  whether  I  am  entitled  to  the 
honor  I  am  about  to  assume  in  seconding  the  resolutions  which  have 
just  been  oifered  by  the  Senator  from  Tennessee,  in  honor  of  his  late 
predecessor;  and  yet,  sir,  I  am  not  aware  that  any  one   present  is 


REMARKS    OF    HON.    MR.    PRESTON.  429 

more  entitled  to  this  melancholy  honor,  if  it  belongs  to  long  acquaint- 
ance, to  sincere  admiration,  and  to  intimate  intercourse.  If  these 
circumstances  do  not  entitle  me  to  speak,  I  am  sure  every  senator 
will  feel,  in  the  emotions  which  swell  his  own  bosom,  an  apology  for 
my  desire  to  relieve  my  own,  by  bearing  testimony  to  the  virtues  and 
talents,  the  long  services  and  great  usefulness,  of  Judf^e  White. 

"  My  infancy  and  youth  were  spent  in  a  region  contiguous  to  the 
sphere  of  his  earlier  fame  and  usefulness.  As  long  as  I  can  re- 
member anything,  I  remember  the  deep  confidence  he  had  inspired 
as  a  wise  and  upright  judge,  in  which  station  no  man  ever  enjoyed  a 
purer  reputation,  or  established  a  more  implicit  reliance  in  his  abilities 
and  honesty.  There  was  an  antique  sternness  and  justness  in  his 
character.  By  a  general  consent  he  was  called  Cato.  Subsequently, 
at  a  period  of  our  public  afiairs  very  analogous  to  the  present,  he 
occupied  a  position  which  placed  him  at  the  head  of  the  financial  in- 
stitutions of  East  Tennessee.  He  sustained  them  by  his  individual 
character.  The  name  of  Hugh  L.  White  was  a  guarantee  that  never 
failed  to  attract  confidence.  Institutions  were  sustained  by  the 
credit  of  an  individual,  and  the  only  wealth  of  that  individual  was 
his  character.  From  this  more  limited  sphere  of  usefulness  and 
reputation,  he  was  first  brought  to  this  more  conspicuous  stage  as  the 
member  of  an  important  commission  on  the  Spanish  treaty,  in  which 
be  was  associated  with  Mr.  Tazewell  and  Mr.  Kinor.  His  learuincr. 
his  ability,  his  firmness  and  industry,  immediately  extended  the 
sphere  of  his  reputation  to  the  boundaries  of  the  country.  Upon 
the  completion  of  that  duty,  he  came  into  this  Senate.  Of  his  career 
here  I  need  not  speak.  His  grave  and  venerable  form  is  even  now 
before  us — that  air  of  patient  attention,  of  grave  deliberation,  of  un- 
relaxed  firmness.  Here  his  position  was  of  the  highest — beloved,  re- 
spected, honored;  always  in  his  place  —  always  prepared  for  the 
business  in  hand — always  bringing  to  it  the  treasured  reflections  of  a 
sedate  and  vigorous  understanding.     Over  one  department  of  our 


430  MEMOIR  OP   HUGH   LAWSON   WHITE. 

deliberations  lie  exercised  a  very  peculiar  control.  In  the  manage- 
ment of  our  complex  and  difficult  relations  with  the  Indians,  we  all 
deferred  to  him,  and  to  this  he  addressed  himself  with  unsparing 
labor,  and  with  a  wisdom,  a  patient  benevolence,  that  justified  and 
vindicated  the  confidence  of  the  Senate. 

"  In  private  life  he  was  amiable  and  ardent.  The  current  of  his 
feelings  was  warm  and  strong.  His  long  familiarity  with  public 
affairs  had  not  damaged  the  natural  ardor  of  his  temperament.  We 
all  remember  the  deep  feeling  with  which  he  so  recently  took  leave 
of  this  body,  and  how  profoundly  that  feeling  was  reciprocated.  The 
good- will,  the  love,  the  respect  which  we  bestowed  upon  him  then, 
now  give  depth  and  energy  to  the  mournful  feelings  with  which  we 
offer  a  solemn  tribute  to  his  memory." 

At  a  meeting,  in  the  Capitol  at  Washington  of  the  personal  friends 
and  admirers  among  the  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  in 
Congress,  of  the  late  Hugh  L.  White  of  Tennessee,  called  on  the 
21st  instant,  for  the  purpose  of  paying  a  tribute  of  respect  to  his 
memory ; 

The  Hon.  Thomas  W.  China,  of  Louisiana,  was  called  to  the 
Chair,  and  the  Hon.  William  K.  Bond,  of  Ohio,  was  appointed 
secretary. 

The  Hon.  John  Bell,  of  the  Tennessee  delegation,  rose  and  intro- 
duced the  object  of  the  meeting,  with  the  following  remarks : — 

As  the  senior  member  of  the  Tennessee  delegation,  now  present,  it 
may  be  expected  that  I  should  state  the  object  of  this  meeting,  which  is 
simply  to  make  some  suitable  manifestation  of  our  sorrow  for  the  death 
of  the  late  Judge  White,  and  to  pay  such  tribute  of  respect  to  the  excel 
lence  of  his  character,  as  I  am  sure  will  be  equally  grateful  to  our  own 
feelings,  and  to  his  numerous  relatives  and  friends,  wherever  they  may 
be. 

Not  having  been  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  pre- 
cedents do  not  authorize  the  annunciation  of  his  name  in  that  body,  nor 


REMARKS    OF   HON.    JOHN   BELL.  431 

admit  the  customary  proceedings  in  lionor  of  departed  fellow  members. 
Tlie  deep  and  unaffected  concern  with  whicli  the  melanclioly  intelligence 
of  liis  death  was  received  by  every  member  who  had  formed  a  personal 
acquaintance  with  him  in  the  course  of  his  public  service,  and  the  anx- 
ious solicitude  they  expressed  that  some  mode  should  be  adopted,  by 
wliich  they  could  testify  their  feelings  to  the  world,  will,  perhaps,  after 
all,  be  regarded  as  a  higher  testimonial  of  his  worth  than  any  we  caa 
now  offer. 

Many  were  of  opinion  that  his  long  and  useful  public  services,  the  ven- 
erable age  at  which  he  had  arrived,  and  above  al],  the  unblemished 
purity  of  his  whole  life,  were  sufficient  to  set  aside  all  precedents,  and  to 
justify  an  extraordinary  proceeding  in  the  House.  But  on  reflection,  it 
was  concluded  that  nothing  should  be  attempted,  Avhich  under  the  excite- 
ment of  the  times,  could  be  attributed  to  any  possible  motive  except  the 
desire  of  doing  sincere  homage  to  the  virtues  of  the  deceased.  I  must 
confess,  however,  there  is  something  very  unsatisfactory  to  the  feelings, 
in  the  customary  proceedings  of  the  two  Houses,  upon  the  occasion  of 
the  decease  of  a  member.  They  are,  for  the  most  part,  indiscriminate  ; 
there  is  the  same  routine  in  every  case ;  oftentimes  the  duty  of  speaking 
the  eulogy  is  devolved  upon  one  who  has  neither  the  heart  to  fippreciate, 
nor  perhaps,  the  inclination  to  do  justice  to  his  memory.  I,  therefore,  on 
every  account,  prefer  the  mode  of  our  present  meeting.  Here,  there  is 
no  involuntary  or  exacted  homage ;  none  give  their  attendance,  but 
those  whose  feelings  w^ould  not  allow  them  to  be  absent.  Here,  too,  we 
can  give  full  scope  to  our  friendship  and  admiration,  unrestrained  by  the 
fear  of  giving  offence  to  the  taste  of  the  cold  and  indifferent ;  and  besides, 
it  is  not  the  member  of  Congress  whose  death  we  now  deplore,  to  whose 
memory  we  offer  the  tribute  of  our  sorrow  and  our  tears.  It  is  to  the 
man,  the  public  officer,  the  statesman,  who  was  an  honor,  and  a  bright 
and  shining  one,  not  only  to  the  State  in  which  he  lived,  to  the  country 
he  served  so  long,  so  ably,  and  so  faithfully,  but  to  human  nature 
itself.  For  if  there  be  truth  in  the  proposition,  that  the  noblest  work  of 
Deity  is  an  "  honest  man,"  then  was  the  late  Hugh  Lawson  White,  of 
Tennessee,  one  of  the  noblest  specimens  of  divine  woi'kmanship.  Alto- 
gether, he  formed  a  character  of  rare  perfection.  Though  determined  in  his 
own  purposes  of  ardent  and  decided  attachments,  though  engaging  freely 
and  actively  in  all  the  concerns  of  life,  there  was  nothing  in  his  whole 
career,  no  infirmity,  no  act,  public  or  private,  over  which  his  friends 
need  draw  a  veil  in  charity.  The  history  of  his  last  days  we  all  know. 
Retiring  from  the  Senate,  in  obedience  to  his  principles  and  that  inexora- 
ble sense  of  duty  which  had  influenced  his  whole  life,  though  suffering 
from  indisposition  at  the  time,  he  resolved  to  set  out  immediately  for  his 
residence  in  Tennessee.  Incapable,  from  long  habits  of  self  denial,  of 
perBOual  indulgence,  the  entreaties  and  warning  of  his  friends,  who  had 


432  MEMOIR   OF   HUGH   LAAVSON   WHITE. 

but  too  clearly  foreseen  the  perils  of  so  long  a  tnavel,  in  a  season  of  such 
uncommon  severity,  were  unavailing.  The  exposure  and  privations  of 
his  journey  were  fatal  to  his  health.  Disease  fastened  on  a  vital  part  of 
his  system,  and  he  finally  sunk  under  it,  with  signal  composure  and 
fortitude. 

Thus  terminated  a  life  of  uncommon  usefulness,  and  one  which,  I  trust, 
when  it  shall  become  more  generally  known,  will  leave  a  salutary 
impress  upon,  the  whole  country.  Judge  White  was,  indeed,  in  many 
respects,  a  man  of  most  rare  and  felicitous  endowments,  some  of  which 
may  have  passed  unobserved  even  by  many  of  those  who  enjoyed  his 
friendship  daring  the  latter  years  of  bis  existence.  His  manly  patience 
and  fortitude  under  tho  severest  afflictions,  are  known  to  but  few. 
Though  tender  and  affectionate  to  the  last  degree,  in  his  domestic  rela- 
tions, yet  his  patient  endurance  under  the  greatest  and  most  overwhelm- 
ing domestic  bereavements,  was  almost  superhuman.  By  calling  to  his 
aid  the  will^  that  faculty,  which,  with  him,  when  once  summoned  into 
action,  was  absolute  and  invincible,  he  could  appear  among  his  friends 
with  serenity  upon  his  brow,  while  his  heart  was  pierced  with  the  keenest 
anguish. 

It  may  not  be  generally  known,  that  this  venerable  patriot  was,  late 
in  life,  destined  to  the  affliction  of  beholding  the  objects  of  his  early  pater- 
nal care,  the  pride,  and  joy,  and  hope  of  his  affections  fall,  stricken  by 
the  "  insatiate  archer,"  one  by  one,  in  succession,  until  two  only  of  a  lovely 
and  cherished  group  of  ten  remained ;  and  what  seemed  yet  a'  harder, 
and  more  relentless  fate,  all  these  sank  into  the  tomb  at  full  maturity — 
his  sons  in  the  vigor  of  manhood,  and  giving  high  promise  of  all  their 
father  was — the  more  tender  and  lovely  members  of  bis  family  in  the 
full  bloom  of  youthful  beauty.  Yet  so  stern  Avas  the  sense  of  public  duty, 
which  always  governed  this  eminent  citizen,  that,  at  its  bidding,  I  have 
known  him  to  allow  hiinself  but  a  single  hour  in  which  to  weep  the  early 
doom  of  still  another  "  daughter  dear." 

By  a  singular  and  unfortunate  coincidence,  a  measure  of  great  impor- 
tance in  the  Senate  of  which  he  had  charge,  and  which  he  alone,  from 
his  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  subject,  was  able  to  explain  and 
enforce,  was  set  for  the  very  day  on  which  he  received  the  melancholy 
tidings  of  this  new  bereavement.  The  measure  was  urgent,  and  admit- 
ted no  postponement.  One  moment  I  saw  him  with  his  heart  wrung  by 
inexpressible  anguish — the  next,  he  appeared  in  the  Senate,  composed 
and  resolute,  and  a  moment  afterwards  he  entered  upon  one  of  the  ablest 
and  most  effective  speeches  ever  delivered  by  him  in  that  body. 

One  other  illustration  of  these  less  conspicuous,  and  perhaps,  less  use- 
ful qualities,  yet  still  so  characteristic  of  the  man,  I  cannot  forbear  to 
give.  I  would  speak  of  his  gratitude — a  virtue  which  he  highly  prized  in 
himself,  and  the  violatioA'of  which  in  others,  ho  was  less  able  to  bear 


REMARKS  OF  UOX.  JOUN  BELL.  433 

than  any  man  I  have  known.  Yet  tliis  cup,  bitter  as  it  is,  he  was,  near 
the  close  of  his  vakiablfi  hfe,  compelled  to  drain  to  the  dregs. 

It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  see  in  this  assembly  so  many  of  thos* 
who  assisted  npon  another,  but  very  differeut  occasion,  to  consecrate, 
and  canonize  the  last  public  act  of  this  distinguished  public  servant.  The 
generous  sympathy,  the  just  measure  of  approbation  and  applause 
you  bestowed  upon  his  public  course,  and  upon  the  principles  and 
sentiments  he  avowed  in  that,  his  last  intellectual  effort  in  this 
capitol — in  this  world — contributed  to  make  the  close  of  his  public 
career  the  proudest  and  most  glorious  event  of  his  life.  I  am  sure  it 
will  long  be  a  subject  of  pleasiug  reflection  to  each  of  you,  to  be 
informed  that  the  recollection  of  the  friendship  and  admiration  so 
kindly  manifested  by  you  on  that  occasion,  continued  to  animate  and 
console  him  during  the  remaining,  but  too  short,  period  of  his  life.  It 
supported  him  in  his  painful  journey  home,  as  the  letters  which  now  lie 
before  me  fully  evince.  It  continued  to  be  the  frequent  theme  of  his 
conversation  and  of  his  pen  in  the  last  days  of  his  affliction,  and  it 
afforded  a  gleam  of  light  to  illumine  the  darkness  of  his  last  hour.  This 
will  not  appear  extraordinary,  when  we  know  that  next  to  the  approval 
of  his  own  conscience,  he  valued  and  coveted,  above  all  things,  the  good 
opinion  of  his  friends  and  countrymen.  His  great  ambition  through  life 
was  to  live  without  reproach,  to  be  esteemed  in  private  life,  an  honest 
man,  and  in  public,  a  useful  and  faithful  servant.  This  was  his  passion, 
and  surely  no  man  in  our  times,  through  so  long  a  life,  and  filling  sd 
many  important  stations,  has  lived  so  well  and  so  successfully  up  to  the 
standard  his  ambition  had  prescribed  for  the  regulation  of  his  conduct. 

It  is  no  common-place  or  unmeaning  eulogy  to  say,  that  Aristides  was 
not  more  just.  He  was  -in  truth  a  model  to  two  generations,  for  the 
moral  conformation  of  the  youth  of  the  country  around  him — a  mirror  in 
which  to  dress  themselves  out  in  all  the  moral  excellences  of  our  nature 
— in  all  those  qualities  which  make  up  the  eminently  useful  and  distin- 
guished citizen. 

When  we  reflect  upon  the  keen  sensibility  of  our  lamented  friend,  his 
leading  passion,  the  moderate  though  noble  measure  of  his  ambition, 
judge  ye  what  must  have  been  the  intensity  of  his  emotions  when — after 
a  life  of  nearly  forty  years  spent  in  the  public  service,  filling  with  the 
unanimous  approbation  of  the  whole  people,  for  so  long  a  period,  the 
highest  and  most  responsible  stations,  without  censure  or  reproach,  or 
question  of  his  fidelity,  and  at  a  time,  too,  when,  in  the  course  of  nature, 
he  verged  towards  the  close  of  hip  public  labors — he  was  abruptly  driven 
from  the  public  councils,  dismissed  that  public  service  be  had  so  long 
adorned,  not  only  with  indifference,  but  with  personal  indignity  and 
invective  superadded.  We  can  better  imagine  than  embody  in  Avords  the 
effect  of  such  treatment  upon  a  man  constituted  as  he  was.     In  truth,  it 

28 


434  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON     WHITE. 

came  near  riving  liis  noble  heart.  For  a  moment  it  quite  vanquished 
him ;  for  one  moment  liis  inflexible  spirit  seemed  to  give  way,  but  it  was 
only  for  a  moment.  The  consciousness  of  having  discharged  every  duty 
faithfully  to  the  last,  and  a  strong  sense  of  the  unmerited  censure  wliicli 
had  been  cast  upon  him,  soon  came  to  his  relief,  and  restored  him  to  the 
exercise  of  his  accustomed  fortitude  and  power  of  endurance. 

My  feelings  will  allow  me  to  jjroceed  no  further.  I  offer  to  the  meet- 
ing, for  their  adoption,  the  resolutions  which  I  hold  in  my  hand : 

Resolved,  That  the  present  meeting,  composed  of  the  personal  friends  and  admirers  of  the 
late  Hugh  Lawson  White,  of  Tennessee,  have  received  the  information  of  his  death  with  the 
deepest  emotion  and  regret. 

Resolved,  That,  in  testimony  of  those  feelings,  and  as  some  small  tribute  of  respect  for  the 
rare  virtues,  the  distinguished  ability  and  usefulness  of  a  man  who,  in  his  whole  life,  was  an 
example  fit  for  the  study  and  imitation  of  the  present  and  future  generations  of  his  countrymen, 
we  will  wear  the  customary  badge  of  mourning  during  thirty  days. 

After  the  reading  of  the  above  resolutions,  Mr,  "Wise,  of  Virginia, 
rose  and  paid  an  eloquent  tribute  to  the  character  of  the  deceased, 
and  when  he  had  concluded  his  remarks,  the  above  resolutions  were 
unanimously  adopted. 

Whereupon,  on  motion  of  Mr,  Wise, 

Resolved,  That  the  chairman  of  this  meeting  forward  a  copy  of  these  proceedings  to  the 
family  of  the  deceased. 

Recolved,  That  copies  of  these  proceedings  be  sent  to  the  editors  of  the  "National  InteUi- 
gencer  "  and  the  "  Knoxville  Times,"  with  a  request  that  the  same  be  published  in  their  resr 

pective  papers. 

Thomas  W.  Chinn,  Chairman. 

William  R.  Bond,  Secretary. 

At  the  Young  Men's  Whig  Convention  assembled  in  Baltimpre, 
May,  1841,  Mr.  A,  R.  Humes  of  Tennessee  being  called  upon  for  a 
report  from  that  State,  alluded  in  the  following  touching  strain  to 
Judge  White.  The  "  Madisonian  "  says,  one  of  the  most  striking 
incidents  of  the  day  was  the  manner  in  which  the  immense  assemblage 
received  his  reference  tc  the  good  and  great  Hugh  L.  White.  He 
said : — 

"  Fellow  Citizens :  In  the  midst  of  this  '  army  of  banners,'  borne  aloft 
by  the  stout  arms  of  freemen,  there  is  one  robed  in  the  sable  weeds  of 
mourning.  Tennessee  deplores  the  death,  and  this  day  honors  the  mem- 
ory of  Hugh  L.  White."  '  i 

The  very  moment  the  name  of  the  departed  patriot  was  mentioned, 
the  thousands  who  surrounded  the  rostrum  simultaneously  took  off 


REMARKS    OF    MR.    HUMES.  435 

their  hats,  and  bent  their  heads  in  mournful  homage  to  his  memory. 
The  effect  was  instantaneous — was  sublime — was  electric. 
Mr.  Humes  continued  : — 

You,  my  countrymen !  by  your  uncovered  heads,  at  the  mention  of  his 
great  name,  and  by  the  holy  and  virtuous  indignation  you  feel,  written 
in  legible  characters,  upon  every  face  in  this  vast  assembly,  pay  a  just 
tribute  to  the  worth  of  this  parted  pati'iot.  He  now  sleeps  with  "  the 
illustrious  dead."  His  heart  no  longer  throbs  with  the  pulsations  of 
freedom ;  his  voice  no  longer  eloquent  in  the  councils  of  the  nation,  is 
hushed  for  ever,  in  the  imbroken  silence  of  the  gi-ave. 

Mr.  Humes,  in  alluding  to  the  universal  proscription  of  the  party 
in  power,  said : — 

"  Among  the  many  victims,  who  have  bled  upon  the  altar  of  this  mod- 
ern Moloch,  this  fierce,  relentless  despotism,  was  that  man,  who  has  been 
justly  termed  "  the  Cato  of  the  Republic."  He  forsook  a  past  Adminis- 
tration in  the  uoon-day  of  its  power  in  defence  of  the  Constitution  and 
the  laws — he  renounced  adherence  to  men,  for  the  sake  of  principle.  He 
"  passed  the  Rubicon  "  and  the  decree  went  forth.  He  was  banished 
from  office — and  with  a  heart  full  of  deep,  unutterable  feeling,  and  a  ven- 
erable form,  trembling  beneath  the  palsying  hand  of  age,  he  returned, 
once  more,  to  the  peaceful  abodes  of  private  life.  But  the  storms  of 
winter,  and  the  baseness  of  ingratitude,  "  more  strong  than  traitor's  arm, 
quite  vanquished  him."  Disease  and  calumny  completed  their  work — 
he  returned  to  his  final  home — a  dishonored  soil  received  the  ashes  of  her 
injured  exile.  There  we  might  hope,  he  would  rest  in  undisturbed 
repose.  But  no !  with  fiendish  malignity,  do  his  defamers  pursue  him. 
Like  fierce  hyenas,  they  prowl  around  his  grave,  and  insult  his  injured 
manes.  But,  fellow  citizens !  there  is  a  day  of  terrible  retribution. 
The  blades  of  twenty  thousand  freemen  are  leaping  from  their  scabbards 
to  revenge  his  wrongs.  A  voice,  from  his  fresh  sodden  grave,  speaks  in 
tones  of  thunder  to  you,  this  day.  The  foul  stain  upon  the  brightness 
of  gallant  Tennessee,  will  soon  be  wiped  off — her  glory  is  eclipsed, 
but  not  departed — the  dark  spot  upon  her  broad  disk,  will  soon  pass 
away,  and  the  year  1841  will  dawn  upon  the  young  Switzerland  of 
America  regenerate  and  redeemed." 

These  eloquent  tributes  to  the  memory  of  Judge  White,  emanating 
from  such  high  sources,  were,  certainly,  grateful  to  his  many  friends. 
They  were  no  less  gratified  by  the  many  other  marks  of  the  same 
deep  respect  for  his  character  and  of  the  same  unaffected  and  sincere 
Borrow  manifested  at  his  loss  by  the  people. 


436  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

A  battalion  of  militia  mustered  in  Roane  County,  Tennessee, 
when  Judge  White  died.  When  the  news  of  his  death  was  carried 
to  the  place,  by  request  of  the  commanding  officer,  the  event  was 
announced  to  the  battalion,  by  Thomas  J.  Campbell  Esq.,  who  was 
present,  and  who  added  appropriate  remarks  touching  his  public  and 
private  character.  The  whole  battalion  evinced  the  deepest  interest 
on  the  occasion,  and  unanimously  determined  on  their  return  march 
from  the  field,  to  proceed  with  muffled  drums,  shrouded  in  black,  which 
was  accordingly  done. 

Another  incident  shows  the  affection  with  which  he  was  regarded 
by  the  people.  At  the  great  whig  convention  held  in  Knoxville,  in 
August,  1840,  a  gentleman  who  was  present,  and  heard  Col.  David 
W.  Dickenson's  speech,  says  that,  "  when  he  (the  orator)  came  to 
speak  of  Judge  White,  almost  every  man  in  that  vast  assembly  was 
in  tears." 


CONCLUSION. 

Having  given  the  -  leading  incidents  in  the  life  of  Judge  White, 
and  shown  hira  firm  in  his  adherence  to  all  his  duties  both  of  a  pub- 
lic and  private  nature,  in  defiance  of  all  denunciation,  or  seductive 
influences,  the  subject  might  well  be  left,  in  the  confident  belief  that 
posterity  will  not  fail  to  render  that  award  of  lofty  merit  which  his 
character  so  eminently  deserves.  Testimonials  to  his  worth  have 
been  inserted  from  so  many  and  such  high  authorities,  that  it  is 
scarcely  necessary  to  say  much  in  conclusion.  But  for  the  more  per- 
fect completion  of  the  task  a  few  observations  may  not  improperly  be 
added,  descriptive  of  his  appearance,  or  illustrative  of  his  character. 

His  health,  naturally  delicate,  had  given  him  much  trouble  from 
the  year  1819  until  his  death.  His  lungs  were  the  seat  of  his  disease, 
and  although  he  was  never  so  ill  as  to  render  it  necessary  for  him  to 
absent  himself  from  his  public  duties,  yet  his  hemorrhages  were  so 
frequent  as  to  keep  him  in  a  constant  state  of  apprehension. 

His  personal  appearance  changed  but  little  towards  the  close  of 
his  life  ;  he  retained  his  erect  form,  and  elastic  step,  almost  to  the 
last.  He  had  an  acute  sense  of  the  ludicrous,  and  was  a  lover  of  wit, 
although  his  appearance  indicated  a  want  of  mirthfulness. 

Assiduity  in  him  was  combined  with  great  mental  activity.  He 
was  distinguished  for  his  ability  to  apply  his  mind  intensely  and  pro- 
tractedly, and  for  an  unusual  power  of  concentrating  his  thoughts 
upon  a  single  subject.  Accustomed  from  the  beginning  to  considei 
seriously  the  impediments  in  the  way  of  his  attaining  an  object,  he 
attentedly  weighed  them,  and  when  he  had  undertaken  to  execute 
his  purpose,  his  perseverance  overcame  every  obstacle.  Additional 
obstructions  awakened  additional  strength,  new  and  unforeseen  diffi- 
culties led  to  the  device  of  new  and  unforeseen  expedients,  until  he, 
who  might,  in  a  sense,  have  appeared  to  be  weak,  and  unable  to  main- 
tain his  own  position,  was.  changed  into  an  intellectual  giant,  divest- 
ing his  adversary  of  his  armor,  destroying  his  strong-hold,  and  lead- 

437 


438  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH    LAWSON    WHITE. 

ing  him  captive  at  his  will.  His  mind  was  not  of  that  brilliant  order, 
■whose  only  use  is  to  astound  the  multitude.  It  delighted  not  to 
indulge  in  flights  of  the  imagination,  nor  in  sallies  of  wit.  It  did  not 
chiefly  rely  on  circumstances  for  its  operation.  What  it  had  accom- 
plished at  one  time,  and  in  one  class  of  circumstances,  it  could  also 
accomplish  in  others  of  a  widely  different  nature.  Those  mental 
efforts  which  depended  on  external  and  occasional  excitements  in 
other  men,  were  by  industry  and  perseverance  easily  and  habitually 
performed  by  him.  It  was  this  reliable  and  ready  power  which  made 
him  equal  to  the  exigencies  of  every  cause  which  he  undertook,  and 
the  duties  of  every  office  which  he  was  called  to  till.  The  vigor, 
which  in  some  other  men  of  equal,  and  perhaps  superior,  genius 
was  fluctuating  and  doubtful,  was  with  him  more  uniform. 

He  was  a  deep  thinker,  and  remarkable  for  his  power  of  compari- 
son and  of  discovering  inconsistencies,  and  of  clothing  his  ideas  in 
suitable  language. 

He  examined  thoroughly  the  arguments  of  others,  his  mind  grasped 
and  retained  the  leading  points  of  a  subject  with  great  vigor,  and  his 
reasoning  was  so  clear,  that  he  made  his  ideas  intelligible  to  the 
understanding  of  all.  His  style  was  forcible,  perspicuous  and  concise. 
His  sentences  were  commonly  short  and  so  selected  and  arranged 
that  whatever  he  said  could  readily  be  followed.  His  style  was  often 
figurative,  for  purposes  of  illustration  ;  never  for  the  sake  of  ornament. 
He  addressed  himself  to  the  understanding  and  moral  sensibilities 
and  not  to  the  passions — and  when  speaking,  either  in  popular  assem- 
blies, or  in  parliamentary  debate,  his  manner  was  marked  by  the  most 
impassioned  earnestness  and  he  seldom  failed  to  fix  the  attention  of 

his  hearers. 

The  operations  of  his  mind  were  rapid  ;  his  feelings  were  quick  and 

intense  and  susceptible  of -exquisite  enjoyment  or  extreme  pain.  His 
mental  activity  grew  out  of  an  ardent  temperament.  He  used  to  say 
that  be  was  naturally  one  of  the  most  irritable  and  passionate  of  men, 
but  he  governed  his  temper  well,  and  that  was  one  secret  of  the  influ- 
ence which  he  exercised  over  the  minds  and  conduct  of  others. 

His  own  purity  of  motive  rendered  him  slow  to  suspect  or  to  censure 
the  doings  of  others.  Yet  he  was  not  deficient  in  the  power  of  resist- 
ing ;  and  he  never  allowed  his  character  to  be  trifled  with,  his  rights 
invaded,  or  his  friends  imposed  upon.  This  trait  was  more  frequently 
exercised  and  clearly  exemplified,  by  means  of  circumstances  occur- 
ring during  the  last  years  of  his  life. 


JUDGE   white's    CnARACTEK.  439 

His  incorruptible  integrity  was,  however,  the  most  prominent  fea- 
ture in  his  whole  character.  He  abhorred  the  subtlety  with  which 
some  advocates  are  accustomed  to  plead,  and  to  seek  to  obtain  an  unjust 
verdict,  and  every  course  where  success  depended  upon  manao-ement 
and  intrigue  he  regarded  as  unsound.  Neither  personal  fi-iendships, 
nor  personal  dislikes  or  animosities,  ever  colored  his  decisions  ;  and  the 
accuracy  of  his  opinions  and  his  uncompromising  honesty  secured  for 
him  universal  respect. 

In  private  life  he  was  remarkable  for  the  dignity  and  simplicity  of 
his  manners.     In  all  his  transactions  the  same  honorable  frankness  of 
heart  manifested  itself.     No  instance  is  known  in  which  his  probity 
was  ever  suspected.     His  domestic  habits  were  simple.     He  was  an 
early  riser,  and  when  he  had  no  particular  business  to  transact,  he 
spent  his  time  in  reading  or  in  some  other  useful  occupation.     He 
was  an  excellent  marksman,  and  rode  much  on  horseback.     Many  of 
his  journeys  to  Washington  were  performed  in  that  way,  and  so  par- 
ticular was   he   in   his   attention   to    his  horse,  that  he   was  never 
known  to  take  his  meals  without  first  seeing  that  it  received  attention. 
Although  his  family  were  provided  liberally  with  domestics,  his  habit 
was  to  wait  upon  himself,  and  he  seldom  called  upon  them  for  atten- 
tions;  he   required  his  children  to  imitate  this  example.     He  was 
systematic  and  orderly  in  all  his  habits ;  he  had   a  place  for  every- 
thing and  kept  everything  in  its  place.     He  particularly  disliked  any 
disturbance  in  the  arrangement  of  his  room  ;  and  was  quick  to  detect  it. 
He  was  not  insensible  to  praise  or  censure.     He  valued   much  the 
good  opinion  of  his  fellow-men — but  highly  as  he  prized  the  approba- 
tion of  the  public  in  regard  to  his  public  conduct,  he  valued  far  more 
the  testimony  of  his  companions  and  competitors  in  the  same  profes- 
sion, and  of  his  neighbors  and  friends,  who  had  been  witnesses  of  his 
conduct  from  his  entrance  upon  the  busy  scenes  of  life.     His  reputation 
in  distant  parts  of  the  land,  was  not  greater  than  that  he  enjoyed  in 
his  own  State  and  town.     By  his  long  and  constant  attention  to  the 
interest  of  his  friends,  he  had  become  so  endeared  to  them,  that  they 
never  withheld  an  expression  of  their  warmest  approbation,  or  lost  an 
opportunity  of  bestowing  their  renewed  confidence  and  honors  upon 
him.     In  all  the  domestic  relations  his  character  was  without  a  stain. 
He  was  a  devoted  husband,  an   aftectionate  father,  a  kind  neighbor, 
and  a  good  master.     His  servants  loved,  yet  feared  to  offend  him. 
He  rarely  passed  one  of  them,  however  small,  without  speaking  a  kind 
word. 


440  MEMOIR   OF   HUGH  LAWSON   WHITE. 

One  or  two  anecdotes  will  exemplify  this  trait.  Judge  White 
owned  a  number  of  slaves,  and  had  a  manager  to  see  that  they  dis- 
charged their  duty.  It  so  happened  that  the  family  were  unprovided 
with  fuel  at  a  time  when  the  weather  became  extremely  cold  and 
unpleasant,  and  probably  neither  the  manager  nor  servants  were  ap- 
prised of  the  fact,  or  if  they  were,  considered  that  no  one  in  his 
senses  would  think  of  turning  out  in  such  weather.  The  negroes 
were  collected  around  a  log-heap  fire  in  their  cabins,  and  the  mana- 
ger, a  man  of  by  no  means  slight  figure,  or  delicate  constitution,  in 
his  own  comfortable  quarters,  all  in  full  view  of  Judge  White's 
dwelling.  Upon  being  notified  that  there  was  no  wood,  the  Judge, 
without  saying  a  word  to  any  one  on  the  subject,  protected  himself 
as  well  as  he  could  against  the  weather,  went  to  the  stable,  harnessed 
the  horses  and  hitched  them  to  the  wagon  before  it  was  known  what 
he  was  doing.  As  soon  as  the  news  reached  the  cabins  he  was  im- 
mediately waited  on  to  know  what  were  his  wishes.  He  very  mildly 
and  calmly  requested  the  manager  and  servants  all  to  return  to  their 
homes,  and  make  themselves  comfortable;  that  he  could,  without 
the  least  inconvenience,  endure  the  cold.  Of  course  he  was  not  left 
alone,  however,  but  made  it  a  point  to  drive  the  horses  himself. 

In  relating  this,  the  manager  said,  as  long  as  he  was  with  Judge 
White,  after  this,  he  never  found  the  weather  too  bad  to  do  whatever 
was  necessary  to  be  done. 

A  little  domestic  occurrence  may  indicate  his  careful  oversight  of 
the  moral  training  of  his  family. 

One  Saturday  in  August,  a  grand-daughter  and  two  nieces  of 
Judge  White  went  out  to  make  their  grandfather  and  uncle  a  visit. 
The  Judge  was  then  living  in  the  suburbs  of  the  town,  and  near  him 
resided  a  Presbyterian  clergyman.     Soon  after  their  arrival,  it  was 

announced  by  one  of  the  company  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  M had  a 

peach  tree  loaded  with  ripe  fruit,  the  first  that  had  been  seen  that 
season.  It  was  at  once  agreed  by  the  whole  party,  including  the 
Judge's  daughter  and  a  grand-daughter,  residing  with  him,  to  visit 
the  parson's  garden  some  time  during  the  day,  and,  if  possible,  pro- 
cure some  of  the  fruit.  The  day  passed  away  pleasantly  enough 
until  dinner  was  over,  when  the  little  party  assembled  themselves 
together,  and  began  to  speculate  as  to  the  best  means  of  accomplish- 
ing their  object.  After  some  consultation,  one  of  the  number,  rather 
more  expert  than  the  rest,  proposed  that  the  daughter  apply  to   the 


ANECDOTES   OP  JUDGE   WHITE. 


441 


father  for  permission  for  the  party  to  take  a  walk.     The  unscason- 
ableness  of  the  hour  (for  it  was  mid-day  of  mid-summer)  struck  the 
Judge's  mind  as  rather  odd  for  such  recreatiou,  and  he  at  once  began 
to  interrogate  as  to  the  object,  and  direction,  and  extent  of  the  ram- 
ble.    All  questions  were  promptly  answered,  that  but  a  short  walk 
was  contemplated,  not  beyond  the  confines  of  an  enclosure,  containing 
some   eighteen   acres,  which  lay  immediately  in  front  of  the  house. 
Finally,  consent  wag  obtained,  but  it  was  expressly  enjoined  upon  the 
young  people  that  they  should  not  transcend  the  bounds  agreed  upon. 
Bonnets  were  put  on,  and  all  hands  started  off  in  high  spirits ;  some 
of  them,  perhaps,  fearing  that  they  were  engaged  in  a  rather  hazard- 
ous expedition,  but  still  not  sufficiently  impressed  with  the  idea  to 
induce  them  to  abandon  it.     The  guilty  company  sauntered  along 
leisurely  for  some  time,  every  now  and  then  one  of  them  turning 
round  to  see  that  no  one  was  near  who  could  or  would  report  them. 
After  making  an  almost  entire  circle,  they  reached  at  length  that 
part  of  the  lot  which  lay  nearest  the  parson's.     It  was  now  determined 
that  three  of  them  should  remain  on  watch,  while  the  other  two 
crossed  the  fence,  went  to  the  house  and  obtained  permission  to  ga- 
ther the  fruit.     However,  upon  reaching  the  place,  they  found  the 
house  closed,  and  the  whole  family  absent.     So,  not  liking  the  idea 
of  being  disappointed,  they  resolved,  as  circumstances  did  not  seem  to 
favor  their  obtaining  the  fruit  by  leave,  that  it  would  do  no  harm  to 
help  themselves  to  a  few  without  leave.     Aprons  were  filled,  and  a 
return  made  to  join  their  former  comrades.     Now  all  was  glee,  each 
one  feeling  perfectly  satisfied   that   they  had   not   been  discovered. 
Seats  were  procured  under  a  large  oak  tree,  the  fruit  disposed  of,  and 
the  seeds  scattered,  and  the  little  folks  began  to  retrace  their  steps. 
They  had  got  about  half  way  when  they  met  the  Judge,  who  accosted 
them  with  "  Well,  children,  you  did  not  go  outside  ?"     "  No,  sir  " 
responded  all,  save  the  daughter,  who  was  silent,  and  feeling  some 
misgivings  about  deceiving  her  father,  returned  and   communicated 
all  that  had  taken  place,  though  remonstrated  with  by  her  friends, 
and  urged  not  to  expose  them.     This  conduct,  of  course,  drew  upon 
them  the  displeasure  of  the  Judge.     He  directed  them  to  proceed  to 
the  house,  and  not  to  leave   until  his  return.     In   the  course  of  an 
hour,  the  whole   five  were  summoned  to  appeared  in   his  presence. 
There  being  no  alterative,  they  obeyed  —  all  the   time   feeling  that 
they  would  rather  face  the  world  than  the  Judge,  under  the  circum- 


443  MEMOIR   OP   HUGH   LAWSON   WHITE. 

stances.  After  hearing  that  the  Judge  had  witnessed  the  whole 
affair  from  a  window  on  the  second  floor,  and  hearing  a  lecture  of 
some  twenty  or  thirty  minutes'  length,  many  promises  of  better  con-  i 
duct  in  future  were  given,  and  tnose  of  them  not  belonging  to  the 
family  began  to  make  arrangements  for  home.  To  this  Judge  White 
objected,  assuring  them  that  they  should  have  tea  in  time  to  return 
before  night.  Here  again  the  guilty  trio  were  compelled  to  face  him 
at  table.  Scarce  a  word  was  spoken.  Now  they  were  suffered  to 
depart,  and  it  became  the  Judge's  time  to  take  a  stroll.  He  returned 
with  his  hands  full  of  peach-seed,  and  presenting  them  to  his  chil- 
dren, said,  he  had  always  heard  that  stolen  fruit  was  the  best,  and 
requested  them  to  plant  the  seed,  and  thereby  be  saved  the  necessity 
of  robbing  a  clergyman's  orchard  in  future.  There  stand  the  trees 
now,  a  monument  of  disobedience,  and  other  juvenile  peccadilloes. 
The  lesson  was  never  forgotten.  .    ,,  - 

The  elevated  moral  qualities  and  the  lofty  mental  powers,  which 
are  essential  to  the  character  of  a  perfect  statesman  were  united  in 
Judge  White.  Intrepidity  and  determination  were  combined  with 
freedom  from  prejudice,  and  from  excesses  of  every  kind;  and  firm- 
ness of  purpose,  which  seemed  to  calculate  the  consequences  of  doing 
his  duty,  with  prudence  in  counsel,  and  energy  in  action.  At  the 
time  of  his  death  he  had  nearly  completed  his  68th  year,  and  had 
been  engaged  uninterruptedly  almost  forty  years  in  laborious  public 
duties,  and  at  the  close  of  his  political  life,  he  exhibited  the  same 
purity  of  intention,  and  earnestness  and  ardor  in  the  promotion  of 
the  public  welfare,  which  were  manifested  in  his  earlier  days. 

He  was  strictly  just  in  his  dealings  with  all  men,  whether  of  busi- 
ness or  friendly  intercourse.  He  loathed  anything  like  duplicity. 
His  desire  was,  to  be  to  all  men  in  truth,  what  he  appeared  to  them 
to  be.  His  great  purity  of  character  placed  him  above  the  intrigues 
of  politics,  and,  consequently,  he  was  seldom  or  never  cognizant  even 
of  those  of  his  own  party. 

Upon  this  trait  Dr.  Ramsey  remarks  : 

I  can  recollect  well  when  he  was  last  a  candidate  for  the  State  Senate. 
He  was  too  honest  to  act  the  demagogue,  and  had  too  high  regard  for 
the  constituency  to  try  to  deceive  or  flatter  them.  He  addressed  only 
their  cool  and  dispassionate  judgment  —  neither  laughing  himself  nor 
exciting  laughter  in  others  ;  I  remember  that  he  spoke  of  his  competitor 
rarely,  and  that  then  he  used  the  adjective  tvorthy  when  he  did  mention 


ANECDOTES   OF   JUDGE   WHITE.  443 

him.  He  never  spoke  to  Buncombe  (excuse  the  vulgarism),  and  hia 
high  eulogj  is  that  he  never  courted  the  people,  nor  sought  to  be 
their  favorite.  He  tried  to  deserve  applause  rather  than  to  re- 
ceive it. 

In  relation  to  other  points  of  Judge  White's  character,  Dr.  Ramsay 
says: 

Another  instance  of  benevolence,  more  private,  but  not  less  honorable 
to  his  memory,  I  may  not  omit  to  mention  ;  as  it  was  not  heralded  abroad, 
and,  indeed,  was  known  only  to  a  few  intimate  friends.  Rev.  T.  H.  Nel- 
son, pastor  of  the  Old  Presbyterian  Church  in  Knoxville,  was,  as  is  well 
known,  a  poor  man,  and  inadequately  supported.  In  the  erection  of  hia 
humble  residence  he  had  not  only  exhausted  his  private  means,  but 
had  contracted  considerable  debt,  which  he  had  no  means  of  liqui- 
dating, and  which  hung  like  an  incubus  upon  his  drooping  spirits.  For 
some  reason,  too,  a  portion  of  his  salary  had  not  been  paid  ;  and  these 
accumulated  discouragements  led  him  almost  to  despair.  Judge  AVhite, 
though  not  a  member  of  his  church,  hearing  of  the  embarrassed  condi- 
tion of  Mr.  Nelson,  called  upon  Captain  Crozier,  an  elder  in  his  church, 
and  proposed  to  be  one  of  eight,  six,  or  even  four,  to  assume  Mr.  Nel- 
son's debt,  and  take  up  his  note,  then  in  bank,  for  the  amount.  In  tho 
captain  he  found  a  congenial  spirit.  Four  men  were  found  who  paid 
the  bank  debt;  the  note  was  sent  to  the  minister  cancelled,  and  his  mind 
set  at  ease." 

The  judge  was  present  once  when  an  effort  was  being  made  to  get  up 
a  dancing  school.  He  favored  the  object  by  remarking,  "  that  young 
men  should  learn  to  dance,  for  if  they  were  unable  to  participate  in  that 
amusement,  they  would  at  parties  resort  to  cards,  which  would  lead  to 
gambling.  He  was  a  great  student ;  if  he  was  not  always  reading,  what 
was  still  better,  he  was  always  thinking.  Earnest  and  profound  think- 
ing was  a  (perhaps  the)  prominent  feature  of  his  intellect.  He  thought 
quickly,  yet  deeply  and  accurately.  What  others  fuiind  by  a  pains-tak- 
ing search  and  tedious  investigation,  ho  obtained  intuitively.  To  look 
at  a  subject  at  all  was  to  penetrate  it  with  an  eagle's  glance,  to  touch 
was  to  dissect,  to  handle  was  to  unravel  'and  analyze.  He  wrote  well, 
yet  his  productions  possessed  few  of  the  embellishments  of  art,  and  none 
of  the  ornaments  of  style,  though  always  enlivened  and  brilliant  from 
the  flashes  of  a  true  and  innate  eloquence. 

Like  other  truly  great  men.  Judge  White's  manners  were  simple  and 
unpretending.  He  rarely,  out  of  the  private  circle,  jested,  and  though 
an  impressive  and  instructive  talker,  he  never  was  loquacious.  In  large 
assemblies  he  was  rather  retiring  and  taciturn  ;  and  yet  when   he  did 


444  MEMOIR   OF   HUGH  LAWSON  WHITE. 

"Bpeak,  the  attention  of  every  hearer  was  arrested  with  the  good  sense, 
the  originality,  and  the  profundity  of  his  remarks.  Where  he  chose  to 
use  them  as  weapons  of  defence,  he  resorted  effectually  to  irony,  ridicule 
and  sarcasm,  and  woe  to  the  antagonist  on  whom  he  turned  these  instru- 
ments of  torture,  accompanied  by  the  signiiBcant  pointing  of  his  finger, 
and  the  withering  glance  of  his  piercing  eye — "  I  would  rather  be  in 
hell,"  exclaimed  a  profane  juror,  "  than  to  have  been  in 's  shoes  to- 
day, in  the  court-house."  And  yet  to  his  friends  he  was  habitually  kind 
and  benignant,  and  faithful.  None  were  more  so — he  was  grave  without 
being  haughty,  and  dignified  without  being  arrogant.  He  had  a  lofty 
reserve  and  a  consequential  bearing,  which  belong  to,  and  are  insepa- 
rable from,  superior  mental  endowments,  and  superior  moral  principle, 
and  a  severe  public  and  private  virtue ;  but  nothing  of  the  supercilious- 
ness that  belongs  to,  or  is  affected,  by  the  weak  pretender  or  the  peda- 
gogue. Meiis  conscia  recti  did  elevate  him  in  his  own,  as  well  as  in  the 
esteem  of  others,  and  no  one  man  than  he  better  deserved  the  proud 
epitaph, 

"  Integer  yitse  scelerisque  purus." 

On  his  first  election  to  the  United  States  Senate,  he  remarked  to  a 
number  of  young  men  around  him,  when  the  news  arrived  from  Nash- 
ville, "  Young  gentlemen,  never  seek  office — let  office  seek  you." 

He  was  exceedingly  industrious,  punctual,  and  methodical.  An  early 
riser,  he  was  generally  in  town,  and  in  his  office,  before  the  citizens  had 
eaten  their  breakfast  —  though  his  residence  was  for  many  years  two 
miles  in  the  country.  He  was  very  domestic,  and  though  qualified  to 
figure  in  the  public  counsels,  he  was  always  fond  of  home  and  retirement. 
I  mention  a  single  other  trait  of  character — his  filial  piety.  He  not  only 
venerated  his  father,  but  he  bowed  before  and  idolized  his  mother.  From 
her  he  inherited  his  genius,  and  his  intellect — his  quickness,  and  his 
originality,  and  her  he  never  ceased  to  admire  and  reverence. 

I  have  thus  thrown  together  some  of  my  recollections  of  the  subject  of 
your  volume — some  of  my  remarks  are  condensed  from  my  manuscript 
of  a  future  volume  of  my  History  of  Tennessee.  Take  them  for  what 
they  are  worth.  Your  theme  is  an  interesting  one,  and  will,  I  doubt  not, 
be  a  valuable  contribution  to  Tennessee  Literature,  and  Tennessee  Bio- 
graphy.    I  am  already  impatient  to  see  it. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

J.  G.  M.  Ramsey. 

MeclcUnhurg,  Tenn.,  Dec.  ISth,  1855. 

But  honest  and  benevolent  as  were  all  his  intentions  throughout  life, 
his  character  would  have  been  greatly  defective  without  that  confi- 


ANECDOTES   OF  JUDGE   WHITE.  4^5 

dence  and  serenity  which  he  displayed  amidst  his  many  vexations  and 
disappointments.  Friends  became  estranged  from  him  —  he  was 
called  to  surrender  up  parents,  brothers,  sisters,  children,  and  wife — 
and  to  follow  their  cold  bodies  to  "  the  home  appointed  for  all  the 
living."  Yet  in  all  afflictions  he  acknowledged  the  hand  of  God — 
and  by  them  his  heart  was  brought  into  a  holy  conformity  to  the 
divine  will. 

When  through  the  machinations  of  his  political  opponents  he  was 
not  only  driven  from  an  honorable  station,  but  abused  and  insulted 
even  along  the  highway,  his  patience  and  gentleness,  and  his  noble 
saying  that  he  could  have  no  other  feeling  than  pity  for  those  who 
thus  assailed  him,  showed  that  he  lived  in  a  continual  sense  of  the 
presence  of  God ;  and  committed  his  cause  into  the  hands  of  Him 
unto  whom  reward  and  punishment  belong. 

A  single  characteristic  anecdote  of  Judge  White,  extracted  from 
Rev.  James  Gallagher's  "  Western  Sketch  Book,"  is  here  added : 

From  his  youth,  Judge  White  was  characterized  by  profound  reve- 
rence for  the  ordinances  of  the  gospel.  He  was  a  regular  attendant  at 
the  house  of  worship.  And  while  he  was  a  Presbyterian,  that  being  the 
church  of  his  fathers,  and  the  church  of  his  choice,  he  was  benevolent 
and  liberal  towards  other  branches  of  the  great  Christian  family.  He 
gave  to  the  Methodist  church,  at  Knoxville,  the  ground  on  which  their 
house  of  worship  was  built ;  and  occasionally  he  would  appear  in  the 
congregation  and  join  them  at  their  worship. 

Now  in  those  days  there  was  a  notable  "presiding  elder"  in  that  re- 
gion, called  Father  Axley;  a  pious,  laborious,  uncompromising  preacher 
of  the  gospel,  who  considered  it  his  duty  to  rebuke  sin  wherever  it  should 
presume  to  lift  its  deformed  head  within  the  limits  of  his  district.  And 
while  Father  Axley  was  a  man  of  respectable  talents,  undoubted  piety, 
and  great  ministerial  fidelity,  he  had  moreover  a  spice  of  humor,  oddity, 
and  drollery  about  him,  that  rarely  failed  to  impart  a  characteristic 
tinge  to  his  performances.  The  consequence  was,  that  amusing  anec- 
dotes of  the  sayings  and  doings  of  Father  Axley  abounded  throughout 
the  country. 

On  a  certain  day,  a  number  of  lawyers  and  literary  men  were  together 
in  the  town  of  Knoxville,  and  the  conversation  turned  on  the  subject  of 
preaching  and  preachers.  One  and  another  had  expressed  his  opinion 
of  the  performances  of  this  and  that  pulpit  orator.  At  length  Judge 
White  spoke  up :  "  Well,  gentlemen,  on  this  subject  each  man  is,  of 
course,  entitled  to  his  own  opinion ;  but  I  must  confess,  that  Father  Ax- 
ley brought  me  to  a  sense  of  my  evil  deeds,  at  least  a  portion  of  them, 


44^  MEMOIR    OF    HUGH   LAWSON    WHITE. 

more  effectually  than  any  preacher  I  have  ever  heard."  At  this,  every 
eye  and  ear  was  turned  ;  for  Judge  White  was  never  known  to  speak 
lightly  on  religious  subjects,  and,  moreover,  he  was  habitually  cautious 
and  respectful  in  his  remarks  concerning  religious  men.  The  company 
now  expressed  the  most  urgent  desire  that  the  Judge  would  give  the 
particulars,  and  expectation  stood  on  tiptoe. 

"I  went  up,"  said  the  Judge,  "one  evening  to  the  Methodist  church. 
A  sermon  was  preached  by  a  clergyman  with  whom  I  was  not  acquaint- 
ed ;  but  Father  Axley  was  in  the  pulpit.  At  the  close  of  the  sermon  he 
arose,  and  said  to  the  congregation:  'I  am  not  going  to  detain  you  by 
delivering  an  exhortation.  I  have  risen  simply  to  administer  a  rebuke 
for  improper  conduct  which  I  have  observed  here  to-night.'  This,  of 
course,  waked  up  the  entire  assembly ;  and  the  stillness  was  most  pro- 
found, while  Axley  stood  and  looked  for  two  or  three  seconds  over  the 
congregation.  Then  stretching  out  his  large,  long  arm,  and  pointing 
with  his  finger  steadily  in  one  direction,  '  now,'  said  he,  *  I  calculate  that 
those  two  young  men  who  were  talking  and  laughing  in  that  corner  of 
the  house,  while  the  brother  was  preaching,  think  that  I  am  going  to 
talk  about  them.  "Well,  it  is  true,  that  it  looks  very  bad,  when  well- 
dressed  young  men,  who  you  would  suppose,  from  their  appearance,  be- 
longed to  some  genteel,  respectable  family,  come  to  the  house  of  God, 
and  instead  of  reverencing  the  majesty  of  Him  that  dwelleth  therein,  or 
attending  to  the  message  of  everlasting  love,  get  together  in  one  corner 
of  the  house  (the  finger  all  this  while  pointing  straight  and  steady  as  the 
aim  of  a  rifleman),  and  there,  through  the  whole  solemn  service,  keep  a 
talking,  tittering,  giggling,  laughing,  and  annoying  the  minister,  dis- 
turbing the  congregation,  and  sinning  against  God.  I'm  sorry  for  the 
young  men.  I'm  sorry  for  their  parents.  I'm  sorry  they've  done  so  to- 
night. I  hope  they'll  never  do  so  again.  But,  however,  that's  not  the 
thing  I  was  going  to  talk  about.  It  is  another  matter,  and  so  important 
that  I  thought  it  would  be  wrong  to  suffer  the  congregation  to  depart 
without  administering  a  suitable  rebuke.  Now,'  said  he,  stretching  his 
huge  arm  and  pointing  in  another  direction,  '  perhaps  that  man  who  was 
asleep  on  the  bench  out  there,  while  the  brother  was  preaching,  thinks 
I  am  going  to  talk  about  him.  Well,  I  must  confess,  it  looks  very  bad 
for  a  man  to  come  into  a  worshipping  assembly,  and,  instead  of  taking 
his  seat  like  others  and  listening  to  the  blessed  gospel,  carelessly  stretch 
himself  out  on  a  bench  and  go  to  sleep !  It  is  not  only  a  proof  of  great 
insensibility  with  regard  to  the  obligations  which  we  owe  to  our  Creator 
and  Redeemer,  but  it  shows  a  want  of  genteel  breeding.  It  shows  that 
the  poor  man  has  been  so  unfortunate  in  his  bringing  up,  as  not  to  have 
been  taught  good  manners.  He  doesn't  know  what  is  polite  and  respect- 
able in  a  worshipping  assembly,  among  whom  he  comes  to  mingle.  I'm 
Borry  for  the  poor  man.     I'm  sorry  for  the  family  to  which  he  belongs. 


ANECDOTES  OF  JUDGE  WHITE.  447 

I'm  sorry  he  did  not  know  better;  I  hope  he  will  never  do  so  ag;ain. 
But,  however,  that  ia  not  what  I  was  going  to  talk  about.'  Thus  Father 
Axley  Avent  on  for  some  time  ;  '  boxing  the  compass,'  and  hitting  a  num- 
ber of  persons  and  things  that  he  was  'not  going  to  talk  about,'  and 
hitting  them  hard,  till  the  attention  and  curiosity  of  the  audience  were 
raised  to  the  highest  pitch,  when  finally  he  remarked:  'The  thino-  of 
which  I  was  going  to  talk,  is  chewing  tobacco.  Now,  I  do  hope,  when 
any  gentleman  comes  here  to  church  who  can't  keep  from  chewing  to- 
bacco during  the  hours  of  public  worship,  that  he  will  just  take  his  hat 
and  put  it  before  him,  and  spit  in  his  hat.  You  know  we  are  Methodists. 
You  all  know  that  our  custom  is  to  kneel  when  we  pray.  Now,  any 
gentleman  may  see  in  a  moment  how  exceedingly  inconvenient  it  must 
be  for  a  well-dressed  Methodist  lady  to  be  compelled  to  kneel  down  in  a 
great  puddle  of  tobacco  spit !' 

"  Now,"  said  Judge  White,  "  at  this  very  time  I  had  in  my  mouth  an 
uncommonly  large  quid  of  tobacco.  Axley's  singular  manner,  and  train 
of  remark  had  strongly  arrested  my  attention.  While  he  was  striking  to 
the  right  and  left,  hitting  those  things  that  he  was  not  going  to  talk 
about,  my  curiosity  was  roused,  and  conjecture  was  busy  to  find  out 
what  he  could  be  aiming  at.  I  was  chewing  my  huge  quid  with  uncom- 
mon rapidity,  and  spitting,  and  looking  up  at  the  preacher,  to  catch 
every  word  and  every  gesture,  and  when  at  last  he  pounced  on  the 
tobacco,  behold,  there  I  had  a  great  puddle  of  tobacco  spit !  I  quietly 
slipped  the  quid  out  of  my  mouth,  and  dashed  it  as  far  as  I  could  under 
the  seat?,  resolving  never  again  to  be  found  chewing  tobacco  in  a  Me- 
thodist church." 


APPEJS^DIX. 


It  was  not  until  after  the  printing  of  the  foregoing  pages  that  there 
appeared,  in  Chapter  of  Vol.  II.  of  Senator  Benton's  "Thirty 
Years'  View,"  certain  unfortunate  misrepresentations  respecting  pas- 
sages in  Judge  White's  life.  The  evident  fairness  of  intention  with 
which  Mr.  Benton  has  written,  and  the  value  and  authority  of  the 
opinions  of  one  so  able,  generally  reliable  and  experienced,  render  it 
the  more  requisite  that  these  errors  should  here  meet  a  suitable  cor- 
rection. 

Mr.  Benton,  after  having  spoken  of  Judge  White's  life,  services 
and  character,  so  worthily  and  nobly  as  even  by  his  own  words  to  seem 
inconsistent  in  what  follows,  proceeds  to  state  his  reasons,  why  Judge 
White,  although  <'so  favored  by  his  State  during  a  long  life,  should 
have  lost  that  favor  in  his  last  days,  received  censure  from  those  who 
had  always  given  praise,  and  gone  to  his  grave  under  a  cloud,  after 
having  lived  in  sunshine."     He  accounts  for  this  version  of  Judge 
White's  non-election,  and  for  what  he  represents  as  disappointment 
and  grief  arising  from  it,  as  follows  :  "  The  reason  is  briefly  told.     In 
his  advanced  age  he  did  the  act  which,  with  all  old  men,  is  an  experi- 
ment, and  with  most  of  them,  an  unlucky  one.     He  married  again  j 
and  this  new  wife,  having  made  an  immense  stride  [!]  from  the  head 
of  a  boarding-house  table  to  the  head  of  a  Senator's  table,  could  see 
no  reason  why  she  should  not  take  one  step  more,  and  that  compara- 
tively  short,  and  arrive  at  the  head  of  the  Presidential  table."     And 
lastly ;  he  says  that  the  various  opponents  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  with 
intent  to  use  Judge  White  in  defeating  Mr.  Van  Buren,  "combined 
and  worked  in  concert ;  and  their  line  of  operations  was  through  the 
vanity  of  the  victim's  wife.     They  excited  her  vain  hopes.     And  this 
modest,  unambitious  man,  who  had  spent  all  his  life  in  resisting  office 
pressed  upon  him  by  his  real  friends,  lost  his  power  of  resistance  in 
his  old  age,  and  became  a  victim  to  the  combinations  against  him  — 
29  (449) 


450  APPENDIX. 

which  all  saw  and  deplored,  except  himself."  Mr.  Benton  further 
quotes  as  corroborating  authority  an  extract  from  a  letter,  written  not 
in  the  most  delicate  manner,  by  a  member  of  Congress  from  Ken- 
tucky, Hon.  R.  P.  Letcher,  and  published  by  his  correspondent,  after 
a  fashion  still  less  gentlemanly,  as  follows  :  "  Judge  White  is  on  the 
track,  running  gaily,  and  won't  come  off;  and  if  he  would,  his  wife 
u-07i't  let  him." 

Some  of  these  expressions  are  somewhat  deficient  in  point  of  deco- 
rum ;  but  they  are  liable  to  the  much  graver  objection  of  unreason- 
able error. 

To  consider  these  points  in  the  order  of  time,  Mr.  Benton  says,  in 
substance,  that  Mrs.  White  was  vain  and  ambitious  even  to  folly; 
that  Judge  White  exhibited  equal  weakness  by  permitting  her  to 
govern  his  public  conduct ;  and  that  the  opponents  of  Mr.  Van  Buren 
made  her  the  instrument  of  deceiving  him  with  unfounded  hopes  of 
the  Presidency,  merely  to  further  their  own  intrigues. 

It  will  hardly  be  claimed  that  there  was  anything  wrong  or  foolish, 
in  a  desire  or  aspiration  on  the  part  of  Mrs.  White,  to  see  her  hus- 
band President,  and  herself  at  the  head  of  his  table ;  for  unless  some 
privileges  of  some  aristocratic  order  are  to  be  set  up,  it  is  difficult  to 
see  on  what  principle  any  lady  in  the  United  States  is  to  be  blamed 
for  the  same ;  and  much  more  then,  was  the  desire  a  right  one,  whea 
the  circumstances  of  the  case  rendered  its  fulfilment  so  honorably 
profitable. 

But  there  is  improbability  in  this  imputation  against  Mrs.  White. 
She  was  of  a  respectable  and  influential  family ;  the  daughter  of 
Colonel  Craven  Payton,  of  Loudon  County,  Virginia,  who  lost  his  life 
in  the  war  of  1812.  Educated  most  thoroughly,  and  possessed  of  un- 
common force  of  character,  as  well  as  great  talent,  she  was  one  of  the 
most  attractive  women  in  the  Union.  She  had  been  unhappily  mar- 
ried; and  having  been  divorced,  and  nobly  resolving  not  to  be  a 
burden  upon  her  friends,  she  deliberately  undertook  to  maintain  her- 
self and  her  two  children  by  her  own  exertions.  Having  failed  in  aa 
attempt  to  establish  a  school  at  Alexandria,  she  opened  a  boarding, 
house  at  Washington,  and  by  financial  tact,  skill  and  perseverance, 
not  only  extricated  herself  from  the  pecuniary  embarrassments  which 
her  first  failure  had  brought  upon  her,  but  also  accumulated  a  con- 
siderable property.  Her  house  was  well  known  as  the  resort  of  the 
most  respectable  class  of  visitors  to  Washington ;  and  after  Judge 
White  had  resided  there  while  in  that  city,  from  1820  to  1832,  she 


APPENDIX.  451 

became  his  wife.  She  was  abundantly  qualified  for  her  new  position, 
and  she  filled  it  with  credit,  attracting  much  attention,  and  eivin^ 
great  pleasure  to  her  husband,  who  loved  her  and  was  proud  of  her. 

But  that  he  sufi'ered  himself  to  be  governed  by  her  desires  in 
determining  his  official  or  public  course,  and  especially  that  he  was  led 
away  into  a  vaiu  and  foolish  ambition  by  her,  is  a  gratuitous  assump- 
tion, totally  irreconcilable  with  the  main  body  of  Mr.  Benton's  own 
statements  respecting  his  character,  and  with  the  truth.  He  would 
doubtless  do  all  that  was  possible  to  comply  with  her  wishes;  but  there 
is  not  one  action  or  word  in  all  his  life,  which  does  not  aid  in  demon- 
strating that  in  regard  to  the  ordination  especially  of  his  public  and 
official  acts,  he  proceeded  according  to  the  principles  of  right  and 
duty,  without  swerving  aside  in  deference,  either  to  his  own  comfort 
or  pleasure,  or  to  that  of  others,  however  near  and  dear. 

It  is  not  a  little  surprising  that  Mr.  Benton  should  have  reproduced, 
even  with  the  modified  form  of  expression  which  he  has  substituted 
so  vulgar  a  piece  of  slang  and  scandal  as  the  remark  about  Judo'e 
White's  being  now  "on  the  track,"  &c.,  and  that  even  if  he  should 
desire  to  come  oflF,  "his  wife  won't  let  him."     Mr.  Letcher's  conduct 
in  relation  to  the  nomination  of  Judge  White,  and  his  motives  as  in- 
dicated in  this  letter,  were  discreditable  enough  to  have  justified  entire 
silence  about  the  transaction;  but  since  Mr.  Benton  has  chosen  to 
endorse  the  idle  tale,  it  is  best  to  answer  it,     Mr.  Letcher  was  sharply 
reproved  for  his  conduct  and  his  words,  and  that  by  men  not  sus- 
pected of  unduly  favoring  Judge  White.     Mr.  Blair,  of  the  Globe, 
says,  in  an  editorial,  Nov.  30,  1835,  "  With  regard  to  Mr.  Letcher's 
introduction  of  Judge  White's  wife  into  his  political  epistle,  we  think 
no  reprehension  too  severe.     Enjoying  as  he  did  last  winter,  the  con- 
fidence and  intimacy  of  Judge  White  and  his  friends,  and  the  portion 
of  his  family  then  in  this  city  living  in  social  intercourse  with  that  of 
the  Judge,  we  cannot  conceive  a  more   ungrateful  return  than   the 
ridicule  he  attempts  to  cast  on  the  victim  of  his  political  intrigues, 
through  his  dearest  domestic  relation." 

Whatever  Mr.  Blair's  personal  relations  with  Judge  White  may 
latterly  have  been,  his  words  in  this  relation  are  entitled  to  great 
weight.     And  he  more  than  once  repeated  the  reproof. 

But  Mr.  Benton  represents  Judge  White  as  having  been  a  mere  tool 
in  the  hands  of  his  wife;  and  the  intelligent  and  passive  victim 
through  her  means,  of  the  deceitful  machinations  of  Whigs,  Cal- 
houn men  and  disafi"ected  Democrats,  working  together  to  defeat  Mr. 


452  APPENDIX. 

Van  Buren  at  any  sacrifice.  This  has  always  been  the  representation 
of  the  partisans  of  Jackson  and  his  successors,  who  of  course  were 
interested  to  maintain  the  reputation  of  their  own  managers.  Mr. 
Blair,  in  the  same  articles  which  administered  to  Mr.  Letcher  a 
deserved  castigation,  gave,  as  his  version  of  the  facts,  precisely  the 
substance  of  Mr.  Benton's  representations. 

It  is  true,  as  Mr.  Benton  himself  states,  that  Judge  White  did  not, 
like  most  political  men,  seek  office,  but  merely  consented  to  accept  it, 
often  refusing.  As  of  other  nominations,  so  was  this  true  of  the 
Presidential  nomination.  It  was  repeatedly  pressed  upon  him  before 
he  consented  to  accept  it ;  and  when  he  did  accept  it,  it  was  in  answer 
to  the  calls  of  duty,  not  of  ambition.  His  nomination,  instead  of 
being  a  contrived  scheme  of  Calhoun,  Clay,  and  other  opponents  of 
Van  Buren,  working  together,  was  the  spontaneous  voice  of  his  own 
and  other  States ;  and  the  ultimate  partial  abandonment  of  it  was  not 
the  result  of  the  further  efforts  of  those  same  schemes,  but  of  the 
machinations  of  those  pretended  friends  of  Judge  White,  within  his 
own  political  party,  who,  along  with  General  Jackson,  were  determined 
to  continue  what  might  be  called  a  dynasty  of  Jacksonian  Presidents, 
by  the  election  of  Van  Buren.  The  abandonment  of  his  nomination 
by  the  Legislature  of  Alabama,  was  one  success  for  this  combination ; 
but  the  rebuke  which  they  received  in  Tennessee,  has  been  stated. 
That  this  is  the  real  state  of  the  case,  satisfactory  evidence  has  been 
adduced  in  the  preceding  chapters;  especially  in  the  twelfth,  and  the 
five  next  succeeding, 

Mr.  Benton  also  states  very  positively,  and  as  a  thing  undisputed, 
another  old  partisan  story,  viz.,  that  Judge  White's  alienation  from 
the  "  Democratic "  organization,  and  his  opposition  to  Mr.  Van 
Buren's  administration,  brought  upon  him  the  censure  of  his  own 
State.  Now  it  is  very  true  that  this  alienation  and  opposition  brought 
upon  Judge  White  the  bitter  and  unscrupulous  enmity  of  the  leading 
"  Democrats,"  who,  even  then,  both  at  Washington  and  in  Tennessee, 
had  degenerated  from  statesmen  into  mere  managers  and  place  hunt- 
ers ;  and  that  the  machinations  of  these  men  prevailed  to  carry,  in 
the  Tennessee  Legislature,  those  instructions  in  response  to  which. 
Judge  White  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 
But  it  certainly  is  altogether  incorrect  to  represent  this  vote  as  the 
voice  of  the  State  of  Tennessee.  The  hearts  of  the  mass  of  citizens 
in  that  State  were  steadily  with  Judge  White,  as  well  after  his  differ- 
ence with  Jackson  and  the  other  schemers  for  Van  Buren,  as  before. 


APPENDIX.  453 

Was  it  a  sign  of  departed  confidence  and  a  mark  of  reprobation,  that 
in  Jackson's  own  State,  and  against  the  whole  immense  weight  of  his 
official  and  personal  influence,  strenuously  used  and  abused,  Judge 
White  had  a  majority  of  ten  thousand,  forty-three  to  Van  Buren's 
eighteen  in  the  Hermitage  district  itself?  And  although  the  admin- 
istration members  of  the  Tennessee  Legislature  did  afterwards  contrive 
to  pass  the  instructing  resolutions  which  it  was  well  known  would 
oblige  Judge  TV  hite  to  resign,  yet  the  work  was  only  done  after  a  des- 
perate struggle,  and  by  the  stringent  operation  of  party  and  parlia- 
mentary machinery.  It  certainly  was  not  done  in  obedience  to  any 
call  from  the  people  of  Tennessee,  for  the  subject  was  not  passed  upon 
or  even  alluded  to  during  the  election  which  constituted  that  Lesisla- 
ture.  It  was  not  the  deliberate  demand  of  a  dissatisfied  constituency ; 
it  was  a  shy  contrivance,  sprung  and  engendered  by  a  few  angry  and 
unprincipled  enemies.  The  indignation  meetings  which  afterwards 
took  place  in  various  parts  of  Tennessee,  the  triumphal  progress  of 
Judge  White's  final  journey  from  Washington  to  his  home,  were  much 
truer  indications  of  his  place  in  the  esteem  of  the  voters  whom  he  had 
BO  long  and  so  faithfully  represented. 

Judge  White  never  swerved  from  consistent  practice  accordant  with 
the  principles  which  governed  his  conduct.  Thes«  principles  were 
perhaps  too  pure  and  lofty  to  harmonize  with  the  views  of  most  of 
those  who  then  led  the  "  Democratic  "  hosts.  At  any  rate,  it  was 
Judge  White  who  did  not  deviate  from  pure  and  consistent  Demo- 
cratic principles,  and  from  upright  political  conduct,  but  Jackson  and 
the  remaining  friends  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  who  did  so  deviate  ;  and 
thus  it  was,  according  to  all  experience,  that  the  delinquents  expended 
all  their  anger,  and  strove  to  cast  all  the  blame  of  the  difference  in 
opinion,  upon  him  whose  unstained  honor  and  undeviating  consistency 
was  a  standing  monument  of  their  own  duplicity  and  shame. 

As  Mr.  Benton  says,  Judge  White,  although  of  measured  and  quiet 
deportment,  was  a  man  of  strong  feelings.  He  was  peculiarly  alive 
to  anything  savoring  of  ingratitude,  meanness,  or  deceit.  Such  being 
the  case,  it  would  not  be  strange  if  the  proceedings  of  these  men  in 
the  Jackson  and  Van  Buren  interest,  who  had  formerly  been  his  own 
personal  friends,  had  received  so  many  kindnesses  from  him,  and  had 
made  so  many  professions,  not  only  of  general  good  feeling,  but  of 
efficient  advocacy  and  support  in  that  very  nomination  — it  would  not 
be  strange  if  these  evidences  of  foul  play  touched  him  deeply.  They 
did ;  but  that  either  they,  or  the  ignoble  mortification  of  a  disappointed 


454  APPENDIX. 

office-seeker,  were  causes  sufficient  to  shorten  a  life  so  pure,  self-sus- 
tained and  noble,  so  unstained  by  passion,  and  so  uninfluenced  by  sel- 
fish interests,  is  a  proposition  absurd  on  its  face.  It  is,  moreover, 
directly  in  conflict  with  the  uniform  assertions  of  Judge  White  him- 
self, before,  during,  and  after  the  election ;  and  whatever  distrust  is 
usually  felt  of  such  professions  from  men  in  public  life,  probably  no 
man  will  impugn  the  absolute  and  perfect  truthfulness  of  Judge 
White,  even  in  a  matter  so  immediately  concerning  himself. 

These  misrepresentations,  in  short,  are  neither  even  presumptively 
reasonable,  nor  based  upon  correct  statements  of  actual  fact.  It  is  as 
absurd  as  it  is  untrue  to  assert  that  after  a  long  life  of  honor  and  use- 
fulness, passed,  before  the  sight  of  all  men,  upon  an  eminence  so  lofty 
as  that  to  which  Judge  White's  integrity  and  abilities  lifted  him,  and 
under  the  searching  gaze  which  always  scrutinizes  such  men,  without 
a  single  stain  or  shadow  of  folly  or  wrong  doing — it  is  as  absurd  as  it 
is  untrue  to  assert  that  the  patriot  grown  old  in  the  practice  of  wisdom 
and  in  disinterested  toil,  closed  the  long  succession  of  his  honorable 
and  honored  actions,  with  the  exhibition  of  superannuated  folly  and 
imbecile  grief  charged  upon  him  by  his  former  opponents,  and  yet 
reproduced  even  by  the  best  of  their  survivers. 

It  remains  to  suggest  adequate  reasons  for  these  erroneous  imputa- 
tions of  passive  folly,  of  weak  ambition,  and  of  weaker  lamentation. 
They  are  not  wanting. 

First.  That  which  is  described  as  having  been  the  unresisting  sub- 
mission of  a  weak  old  man,  was  singly  perseverance  in  a  long  life  rule 
"  never  to  seek  office,  but  to  let  office  seek  him."  Such  were  Judge 
White's  own  words ;  and  as  always  before,  so  did  he  now  quickly  pre- 
pare to  respond  to  the  call  of  his  fellow-countrymen,  if  it  should  be 
uttered.  It  was  a  thing  of  course,  that  his  unmoved  and  dignified 
conduct  should,  in  the  eyes  of  the  greedy,  grasping  and  intriguing 
class  of  selfish  politicians,  who  at  that  period  descended  like  a  cloud 
of  locusts  upon  the  land,  seem  to  be  foolishness  and  imbecility.  Nor 
were  they  the  first  shrewd  men  who  have  been  "  wiser  in  their  own 
generation  "  than  the  loftier  and  more  far-sighted,  whose  principles 
of  action  and  views  of  true  expediency  they  could  neither  practice 
Dor  comprehend. 

But — with  due  respect  be  it  said— it  is,  secondly,  to  be  observed, 
that  this  verdict  from  Mr.  Benton  seems  easily  to  be  accounted  for  by 
his  very  general  habit  of  attributing  all  the  actions  of  his  prominent 
political  cotemporaries  of  opposite  belief,  to  motives  purely  selfish  and 


APPENDIX.  455 

personal.  Ho  has  given,  for  Judge  White's  conduct,  such  reasons  as 
it  is  his  habit  to  give  for  the  conduct  of  many  other  eminent  men; 
although,  indeed,  he  has  not  attributed  such  to  Gen.  Jackson,  or  to 
any  others  of  those  with  whom  his  own  political  communion  has  been 
undisturbed.  The  "Panama  Mission"  is  said  to  have  been  contrived 
and  used,  only  as  an  Administration  measure,  in  the  behalf  of  Presi- 
dent Adams  and  Mr.  Clay ;  vol.  I.,  p.  65.  The  Tariff  of  1828  was 
advocated  by  Mr.  Clay  and  the  Administration,  with  reference  to  the 
election  of  1828,  as  a  means  of  beating  Jackson,  not  for  the  good  of 
the  country;  vol.  I.,  p.  95,  et  seq.  Clay  and  Calhoun  desired  tho 
Tariff  question  to  be  withdrawn  from  politics,  because  they  could  not 
use  it  to  become  Presidents  with ;  vol.  I.,  p.  314.  Calhoun  attempts 
to  become  President  by  Nullification;  p.  340.  Both  these  gentle- 
men, Chap.  LXXXV.,  arranged  the  "  Compromise  of  1833  "  with 
sole  reference  to  their  own  Presidential  aspirations.  Clay,  Calhoun, 
and  "Webster,  join  to  aid  the  United  States  Bank  in  procuring  a  re- 
charter,  that  they  may  overthrow  Jackson  and  rise  by  his  fall;  Chap. 
XCVIII.  Indeed,  assertions  and  implications  to  similar  effect  are 
too  numerously  sprinkled  throughout  Mr.  Benton's  work,  to  permit 
more  than  a  very  few  of  them  to  be  referred  to.  It  need  not  be  sup- 
posed that  that  honest  and  upright  statesman  has  consciously  wronged 
any  man.  Such  a  conviction  has  not  improbably  been  the  legitimate 
result  of  his  observations.  His  error  in  this  single  case  is  simply 
failure  to  recognise  an  exception  to  a  rule  unhappily  generally  correct. 


THE  END. 


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